Housing Secretary issues ‘call to arms’ for leading developers to ‘build, baby, build’

• Housing Secretary Steve Reed commits to leaving no stone unturned to build 1.5 million homes after bringing together leading developers and house builders 

• Landmark legislation and major planning reforms are already paving the way to unlock hundreds of thousands of homes across the country  

• Government accelerates plans to unleash one of the largest eras for building in history as part of Plan for Change mission  

A ‘call to arms' has been issued to key developers and housebuilders, as new Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, vows to build, baby, build, as part of the next phase of getting Britain building faster. 

The new Secretary of State, alongside Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, committed to working in partnership with industry leaders to ramp up housebuilding, focusing on the remaining barriers, including complex planning processes, that stand in the way of building 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.   

It comes after the government took decisive action to get more spades in the ground in every corner of the country through our Plan for Change, ensuring hundreds of thousands of working people and families can have a safe roof over their head and achieve the dream of homeownership.   

Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, said:  “I want us to build, baby, build, so we can put the key to a decent home into the hands of every single family that needs it.    

“We are doubling down on our plans to unleash one of the biggest eras of building in our country's history and we are backing the builders all the way.    

“Through major planning reform and investment, we will break down the barriers to development and build the 1.5 million homes this country needs as part of our Plan for Change.” 

The ‘call to arms' comes ahead of a blitz of new measures expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months, including new towns across the country and the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill passing into law. 

The Housing Secretary met key developers and housebuilders before travelling to a housing site in Bedfordshire to witness first-hand the best ways to move forward and speed up building at sites up and down the country. 

This builds on the government's reinstatement of mandatory housing targets to reverse measures curbing supply which will drive UK housebuilding to its highest level in over 40 years, according to the OBR.   

The landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill is another way the government is working at pace to meet its 1.5 million homes target, speeding up building whilst protecting and enhancing the environment, and not at the expense of local say.   

Since entering office, the government has also unblocked almost 100,000 homes through the New Homes Accelerator, pumped millions of pounds into councils unlocking disused brownfield land, and invested a huge £39 billion into the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme.   

ENDS  

Notes to editors:  

• Attendees included representatives from:  

o   Vistry Group

o   Thakeham  

o   Taylor Wimpey  

o   Berkeley  

o   Barratt Redrow  

o   Persimmon  

o   Home Builders Federation (HBF)  

o   Federation of Master Builders (FMB)  

o   Grainger  

o   British Land  

o   Landsec  

o   Land, Planning and Development Federation (LDPF)  

o   Muse  

o   The Hill Group

o   Lendlease

• Discussion points included upcoming planning reforms, how the government can help remove barriers to development and what government can do to get spades in the ground quicker.