Steve Lees, Marketing Director of smartnewhomes.com, comments on the details of the New Homes Bonus, announced today by Grant Shapps:
“The housebuilding industry has been desperate for detail on the coalition’s housing policy to fill the policy vacuum left by the abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs) after the election. However, today’s outline proposals will leave many in the industry feeling that ignorance was bliss.
“Shapps talks of ‘powerful incentives’ to build but the reality is that matching council tax (a total of approximately £8,500 per new home over 6 years) is simply not enough money to counter nimbyism in many of the areas where the housing shortage is most acute. Not only that, but funding will not filter through for months, given that the consultation paper will not be released until late October at the earliest.
“The housing shortage is at desperate levels and will only be solved by a strong commitment to the issue from government. However, the coalition made its attitude to housing clear when the Minister was denied a seat at cabinet. This already-dire crisis now looks set to get a whole lot worse.”
See Also: Press Releases (371), Property News (6701), The Smart Comment (19), Grant Shapps (23), New Homes Bonus (7), Regional Spatial Strategies (1), Housing Shortage (1), Housebuilding Industry (4)
Date Published: 09 August 2010
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