LEPs urged to prioritise house building
A NUMBER of housing industry bodies have come together to lobby for more investment in the sector in the West Midlands.
The National Housing Federation, Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) will work together to highlight the new jobs and growth that more investment in housing could bring.
They will be calling on local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and local authorities to work with them to promote investment in new homes to help tackle the undersupply of housing, provide jobs and give a boost for local businesses through the supply chain.
The three organisations will be jointly writing to the chairs of all West Midlands’ local enterprise partnerships to highlight how investment in new housing supply can help them meet their aspirations for jobs, skills and growth.
They will also seek to work together and with other interested parties, to make the economic case for new housing development, including affordable housing, across the West Midlands.
Chris Handy, National Housing Federation West Midlands regional chair, said: ‘Despite the number of new families growing in the West Midlands every year, we are currently building less than half the homes we need to keep up with the growing demand for new homes.
“With the average home costing nine times average regional income, now is the time to be investing in more new homes. Local enterprise partnerships, which promote new growth in the region, can play a key role in helping to prioritise housing to increase supply, help stimulate local economies and get people into work.’
