Labour reveals new home building scheme

The Labour party has unveiled a new set of measures to help increase home construction by small building firms, as well as giving more people in their twenties and thirties a chance to take their first steps on to the housing ladder.

Labour’s Help to Build scheme would allow small and medium-sized enterprises to access lower-cost bank lending, alongside fast-track planning for small sites of below ten homes, and a new requirement for councils to include these smaller sites in their five-year plans.

Emma Reynolds, the Labour party’s housing spokesperson stated that under the coalition government there has been a failure to provide the number of homes needed.

She also noted that since 2010 the proportion of homes built by SME builders has fallen from 34% to just 27%.

Speaking at a pre-election event for the Federation of Master Builders, Ms Reynolds said: “We are not even building half the number of homes that we need to keep up with demand. A record number of young people in their 20s and 20s are living at home with their parents. Many young people and families are priced out of home ownership and some of these families are living in overcrowded conditions.”

“We need a more diverse and competitive housing market to build the homes we need but in recent years small builders have fallen into decline.

“Labour will boost small builders, increase house building and help make home ownership a realistic aspiration for the next generation. Labour is committed to building many more homes which is why we will get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020, creating up to 230,000 jobs.”

If you are considering building a home in Market Harborough or the Harborough District, WW Brown & Sons offer a full range of services, including building of new build domestic properties, plumbing, heating, joinery and woodwork. Call us on 01858 465 353 to find out more.