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Senior lawyer applauds Chancellor’s nerve but warns on land supply

A leading West Midlands lawyer today welcomed the Chancellor’s announcements to ‘get Britain building’ but warned more needed to be done to ensure there was adequate development land available.

Niall Blackie, senior partner and head of town and country planning at Wolverhampton and Shropshire law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, applauded Mr Osborne’s commitment to holding his nerve, working though the plan, and reducing borrowing level; but he said that still more needed to be done to address the issue of land supply.

“He has rightly focused on delivering housing, but building in Ebbsfleet is not going to revitalise our local economy, by delivering growth here.

“The Chancellor’s extension of the ‘help to buy’ scheme until the end of the decade, and the regeneration of estates, are moves to ensure the house building industry continues on its growth path. The overall financial support to smaller housing companies will no doubt be good news in this part of the country.

“House building in the UK has hit its highest level since 2007 but is still falling far short of ever-growing demand and without the supply of land coming forward quickly enough to meet demand, this growth will falter because overall house prices will remain too high by comparison with incomes.

“The announcements from Whitehall telling councils that the guidance which was cancelled 10 days ago really is cancelled, and about a new consultation on the subject of pre-commencement conditions, are both very good, and really will help to get sites across the country moving much more quickly.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by FBC Manby Bowdler .