Home Residential Property UK housing shortage is hurting businesses – here's how

UK housing shortage is hurting businesses – here's how

by Sponsored Content
7th Nov 16 10:03 am

The country’s population is set to grow by 10 million in the next 25 years

The housing shortage is stopping UK firms from attracting top talent, according to research from the Confederation of Business Industry.

The country’s population is set to grow by 10 million in the next 25 years, so, to ensure the UK’s housing challenge is adequately met, the CBI wants to see:

  • A strategic housing plan from the Department for Communities and Local Government, with the forthcoming white paper on housing being integrated and joined up across Whitehall and beyond
  • Government help for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) housebuilders through improved release of small sites of public land and making access to finance easier, by rolling out its Home Building Fund
  • Recognising the importance of and improving the attractiveness of the Private Rented Sector.

Josh Hardie, CBI deputy director-general, said: “Solving the UK’s housing shortage has long been a tough nut to crack. For Britain’s businesses, it is far from something confined to the news columns. It’s a problem the impacts of which are seen every day, from high prices barring people moving home and deterring them from applying or staying in a job, to the dent it puts in productivity.

“A quiet revolution in the way business and the government think about, provide and deliver housing is necessary if we are to reach the welcome target of one million new homes by 2020.

“The “one size fits all” approach has passed its sell-by date. As the demographic landscape changes, we must have homes in the right places that fit the needs of people who live in them, creating vibrant and attractive communities. Equally, we must see different types of players in the market, like small housebuilders, more innovation and new partnerships between business to boost our supply base.

Leave a Comment

CLOSE AD