NewsArticle-24-02-2009

Responding to latest Scottish Government housing statistics showing the number of new build private starts to be lower than at any time over the last 20 years, the home building industry reiterated its call for immediate progress on the four priority recommendations recently announced by the Scottish Government’s own Housing Supply Task Force.

Ahead of his first meeting later today with the new Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil, Jonathan Fair (right), Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, the organisation which represents companies building 95% of the country’s new homes, pointed to the statistics’ time lag and highlighted more immediate figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) which paint an even bleaker picture:

“The Scottish Government’s quarterly figures show a worrying drop in new build starts.  However, such information is already many months behind the ever-worsening climate for the home building industry, as evidenced by the staggering 88% decrease in registered starts reported by NHBC for January 2009 compared with the same period a year ago.  

“The scale of the potential housing crisis facing us is therefore huge and will require fundamentally different thinking when recovery begins.  There is simply no time to waste in addressing the key points identified by the Task Force Report if we are to avoid a potential return to double-digit house price inflation and the people of Scotland are to have the opportunity of accessing new housing that meets their needs and demands.”

Ends

Enquiries to:

Jennifer Kennedy - Homes for Scotland (0131 455 8350)

Notes to Editors:

1.  Homes for Scotland represents the country’s home building industry which, prior to the onset of the credit crunch,:

-  was the largest source of private investment in Scotland and the largest user of the planning system

-  built 20,000 new homes, contributed £6bn to the economy and directly impacted the employment of 100,000 people (2007 figures)

But with 26,000 jobs already lost and much new development across the country now effectively on hold, Scottish new build housing output has plummeted.  This will have far-reaching and long-term social and economic consequences.   Browse this website for further market commentary and information on the action and support Homes for Scotland is calling on from both the UK and Scottish Governments.

2. The Scottish Government's Housing Supply Task Force report sets out four priority recommendations to be taken forward:

-  Identify alternative methods of funding infrastructure to accelerate construction of housing and other major projects

-  Ensure speedy implementation of planning system reforms

-  Establish a framework to assist the house building industry return to full capacity swiftly once markets improve

-  Making better use of public sector land for housing

Click here for further information.