Speaking at the opening of the 5th Annual Housing Market Intelligence Conference in London on Tuesday 9 October, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation Stewart Baseley will call on the Government to stand up for homebuyers against local opposition to housing development. Citing new opinion poll evidence which demonstrates public support for Government action to tackle the crisis in housing affordability, Mr Baseley will challenge Ministers to speed up the planning system to unlock land for housing development. He will argue that the Government’s response to the draft South East plan will be an acid test of their resolve to stand up for the needs of aspirant homebuyers against local opposition. The YouGov poll revealed that the ‘Facebook’ generation of 18-24 year old first time voters are looking to government and homebuilders equally to respond to the shared challenge of ensuring that affordable homes are available to first-time buyers. Mr Baseley will say: “The Government must not ‘bottle’ the issue of housing growth. They must get rid of the bottlenecks in the planning system to unlock the land needed for housing development.” Speaking ahead of the Pre-Budget report Stewart Baseley will add: “The Chancellor must deliver a Pre-Budget Report for homebuyers. The Comprehensive Spending Review must address the issue of housing affordability and include sustained investment in speeding up the planning system. “Public investment for housing is only one side of the coin – it must be matched with concerted action to speed up the planning system, reforms to include low-cost market housing within the definition of affordable housing and measures to support first-time buyers.” Mr Baseley will also press Alastair Darling to introduce plans for a tariff-based alternative to the Government’s proposed Planning Gain Supplement arguing that infrastructure investment will best be secured through a local tariff route. 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. The 5th Annual Housing Market Intelligence Conference opens in London on Tuesday 9 October. For further details, please contact HB Media on 020 7960 1646. 3. The YouGov poll for the New Homes Marketing Board revealed that 83% of people who wish to buy their home but are unable to do so at present would be unhappy at never being able to buy their own home. The same poll revealed that 85% of the public feel the problem of housing affordability is getting worse. For all media information, please contact: David Wilson 020 7421 6140 020 7404 5344 david.wilson@portlandpr.co.uk
