“Unrealistic” new homes targets set to be missed – BDO

THE bosses of housebuilding firms across the country say that government targets to build 240,000 new homes a year by 2016 are unrealistic and won’t be met, according to BDO.

An expert at accountants BDO says Yorkshire’s housing shortage will “soon reach breaking point”.

The BDO research, Homes for All, reveals that 95% of board level executives at housebuilders think that government targets are unachievable, with 26% doubting that they will ever be reached. 

Bosses also said that planning red tape, constrained funding options and limited land availability were the biggest barriers to building.

And despite measures introduced to help speed up the planning process, it still is the biggest cause of delay to housebuilding, according to 61% of housebuilders.

Paul Clarke, a partner at BDO, warns that Yorkshire’s housing shortage, which is pushing up house prices and rents to unreachable levels for many people, will soon reach breaking point.

He said: “Less than half of the number of new homes needed in Yorkshire are currently being built and, with the average home in the region costing eight times the average income, affordability has exacerbated the problem.

“Onerous planning procedures and the absence of much needed development-ready land are contributing significantly to the lack of new homes coming to the market.  We need a significant shift in both the speed and direction of housebuilding if we have any chance of balancing our supply and demand crisis.”

BDO said faster planning procedures and fewer regulatory hurdles are at the top of builders’ wish list for government intervention. Housebuilders also wanted to see more imaginative and effective financial solutions to fill the funding gap and incentives to free up local authority and private land.

BDO’s Paul Clarke added: “Yorkshire is home to many of the UK’s housebuilders – Persimmon, Keepmoat, Orion, Harron Homes. Leaders in the housebuilding sector are telling us that they want the government to boost development. Recent changes to the planning process are a step in the right direction but whether they go far enough remains to be seen. Housebuilders are positive about the future, but there is much to be done to shape a sustainable landscape in the housing sector.”