The Callcutt Review's finding that the private housebuilding industry is key to meeting our national need to build 240,000 new homes a year by 2016 and is "in shape" to do so is good news. The Home Builders Federation broadly welcomes the Callcutt recommendations which highlight the importance of increasing land supply for new homes. Callcutt also correctly identifies the critical importance of an effective partnership approach to housing delivery between housebuilders and local authorities in particular. Responding, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation Stewart Baseley says: "Everyone agrees that delivering 240,000 new homes a year by 2016 is a huge challenge. I am pleased that John Callcutt's report confirms that the industry has the capacity to deliver these homes provided we put in place the structures that allow it to do so. "He rightly identifies land supply as the catalyst to realising the 2016 vision. Housebuilders have the all the tools at their disposal to deliver - all we ask for is the land to make these new homes happen. "I particularly welcome the debunking of the myth of 'landbanking.' Homebuilders are doing all they can to build the homes necessary to meet consumer demand, and meet Government targets. Setting the record straight on this issue means we can concentrate on addressing the real problems with new housing delivery, namely land supply with planning permission. "Some of Callcuttt's recommendations need further fleshing out and study. His recognition of the need to incentivise improved partnerships between housebuilders and local authorities is critical, however, if we are to encourage the investment required to come forward. "We are willing to take on the responsibilities and issues that naturally fall to us. But we also look to others to do likewise. "As the industry tasked by the Government with providing 240,000 homes per year by 2016, we ask that the Government seeks to build a consensus on the best and most practical route to meeting the housing needs of this country." General comments HBF welcomes John Callcutt's call for increased dialogue and cooperation between local authorities and housebuilders. In order to deliver the new homes necessary to meet the needs of communities, local authorities should be encouraged to proactively identify land which could be used for housing and work with developers to tackle the issues involved in bringing this forward. HBF welcomes the call for a delivery unit to monitor progress towards zero-carbon homes by 2016. In order to meet this unprecedented and ambitious target, the Government will need to ensure that all stakeholders, particularly local authorities, help rather than hinder the ability of housebuilders to build homes to the highest environmental standards. HBF welcomes the emphasis on skills provision to cater for future homebuilding needs. We announced our own skills strategy last year, and will be delighted to build on this and our existing work with ConstructionSkills to develop a new Sector Skills Agreement for homebuilding. - Ends - Notes for Editors 1. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF's 300 member firms account for some 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk 2. John Callcutt's review of housebuilding delivery was commissioned in December 2006, alongside the Government's announcement of the 2016 zero-carbon target. The then Chief Executive of national regeneration agency English Partnerships was tasked with examining the nature and structure of the housebuilding industry, with a view to making recommendations as to how they effect the building of new homes in line with customer requirements and Government targets. The recommendations and full report can be found at http://www.callcuttreview.co.uk/default.jsp. 3. HBF's submission to the Callcutt Review can be found here. For all media information, please contact: Paul Boulter 0207 421 6140 07814 506 378 paul.boulter@portlandpr.co.uk David Wilson 020 7404 5344 07956 225238 david.wilson@portlandpr.co.uk
