Independent Review Analysis Suggests Changes to Boost House Building

With the current issue of new house building moving at a slow rate, there has now been a call for changes that should speed up the process. These changes aim to get thousands more British Bricklayers trained in order to help meet government targets.

A study by Conservative Politician Rt. Hon. Sir Oliver Letwin, commissioned by the government, was released yesterday, showing that the system is being slowed down by developers limiting the number of new build homes that are available for purchase at any one time.

The idea behind this staggering is that it should help prevent the prices of properties in the local market from falling, and it is known as the ‘absorption rate’.

However, when it comes to the design, size and tenure of new homes, the report shows how these choices could be increased without having an impact on the local market. This could therefore speed up the rate of buying and selling for the properties concerned.

The analysis goes on to address the shortage of bricklayers within Britain, which it states will have a “significant biting constraint” on the Government’s plans to further the advancement of new homes built, bringing it from 220,000 to 300,000 a year.

A total of 15,000 additional bricklayers has been called for by the analysis, to be trained over the next five years. It suggests that to “raise production of new homes from about 220,000 to about 300,000… the government and major house builders work together … on a 5 year ‘flash’ programme of pure on the job training.”

Sir Oliver Letwin said: “I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Review Panel’s work to date in analysing all possible reasons behind the slow build out of housing sites.

“It is clear that the main cause for delay is the absorption rate. We found that if house builders were to offer more variety of homes and in more distinct settings then overall build out rates could be substantially accelerated.”

Secretary of State for Communities Rt. Hon. James Brokenshire MP said: “We want to help people onto the housing ladder, and so I would like to thank Sir Oliver and the expert panel for their excellent work.

“I was particularly interested to see that increasing the choice of design, size and tenure of new homes in helping to speed up build out rates and help deliver the homes we need and communities want. I look forward to receiving the final report in the autumn.”

The draft analysis for the study is available to view here.