29 January 2015
The self and custom build sector could expand to almost double its current output by 2021, according to an independent report.
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The suggestion forms part of The Report of the Lloyds Banking Group Commission on Housing which sets out a roadmap towards the sustained supply of good-quality new homes; a progressively rising target for national housebuilding which will deliver 2 million to 2.5 million homes by 2025.
To achieve this, the document recommends that focus needs to be on the delivery of more high-quality yet affordable homes supported by a “revitalised” self/custom build industry. A recent estimate from research commissioned by Lloyds Bank indicates that around 12,000 self and custom build homes are completed each year and it suggests that the sector could expand output gradually to around an additional 10,000 completions per year by 2021; maintaining that increased level thereafter.
The paper calls on the next government to “improve the availability of public land for self and custom building, particularly for community groups” by “simplifying the planning and procurement regulations” and encouraging mortgage providers to improve access to their products.
Self and custom builders should be particularly encouraged to contribute to a “pathway to additional building that involves gradual increases in output”, the report concludes.
The aim of the Lloyds Banking Group Commission on Housing is to generate cross-party agreement on key policy areas which could make a significant difference in providing greater levels of new homes. Co-chaired by Mark Prisk MP and Nick Raynsford MP, two former Housing Ministers from different political backgrounds, the Commission also includes a number of industry experts from different fields who collectively generated the insight shaping the conclusions of the Report. The research underpinning the report has been carried out by Cambridge University and sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.
Mark Prisk MP, Lloyds Banking Group Commission on Housing co-chair, said: “The UK housing market is facing a range of interlocking problems relating to the general shortage and quality of new homes being built. These will not be solved without a determined and sustained programme supported by all political parties, and we intend this report to be the spur to give this issue the priority it needs.”
The Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “I welcome this report’s contribution to the debate, which makes clear that all parts of the housing industry must work together and continue to build the homes this country needs.”
