Housebuilder Redrow could provide work for thousands more people if only it could find sufficient land to build more of its New Heritage Collection homes and the planning system could be streamlined.
That was the claim of chairman Steve Morgan as he launched the collection of 34 traditional looking new homes in London today (February 11th).
He added that building more homes would also bring spin-off benefits for British manufacturing and the retail sector; and urged planning authorities to let developers like Redrow build the homes that people really want to live in.
Redrow’s new product reflects the Arts and Crafts era in its external styling, while interior specification is designed for 21st century living. Most importantly The New Heritage Collection portfolio features predominantly two storey detached family homes – moving away from the abundance of apartments and three-storey townhouses seen in most UK housing developments over the last few years.
Steve said: “We’ve already proved that these are the kind of homes that people want to live in. We’ve conducted research, held consumer focus groups and listened to customer feedback. They all tell us they want a home with traditional looks, a practical layout, parking that’s joined to or next to their home and a decent sized garden to call their own. It flies in the face of planning regulations that have forced developers to build high density developments, which has led to an over-supply of flats and townhouse.
“We have started taking advance orders for our New Heritage Collection homes off-plan; those showhomes that we’ve already opened ahead of today’s launch have been inundated with visitors and we’ve even had people drive hundreds of miles from South Wales to Liverpool to see them.”
Apart from convincing the planners to let them provide the homes people want, Steve said the other big issue facing Redrow was acquiring sufficient land to build them.
“Our problem now is finding new sites where we can build New Heritage. More land needs to be allocated for housing, we’re being held back by a chronic shortage in supply,” continued Steve.
“This country needs about 250,000 new homes per annum and, currently, the industry is building less than 100,000. Many people don’t appreciate the direct correlation between the new homes industry and economic recovery.”
“In the 10 months since I’ve been back at Redrow we’ve taken on 150 people directly and created work for over 1,000 sub-contractors just by getting sites up and running again. That’s 1,150 people taken off benefits and paying taxes again. On top of this, we’re buying British products to build our homes, which helps manufacturing, and the people who move in will buy new furniture, carpets, curtains, etc, which in turn boosts the retail sector.”
“Even after creating those 1,150 jobs, we’re still only running at about 50% capacity compared to our output three years ago. If we had the land available to get back to those levels and could get the planning consents we need more quickly for developments featuring our New Heritage Collection product, we could potentially create a further 2,500 jobs using private sector funds.”
Redrow’s New Heritage Collection is already being built at several locations in the North of England, Midlands and Wales, with new schemes planned in the South East, South West and Scotland.
See Also: Property News (6699), Redrow Homes (115), New Heritage Collection (32), Steve Morgan (6)
Date Published: 11 February 2010
Related News
