Who will build Britain's new homes?

Housebuilders have welcomed Labour's plans to build 370,000 new houses, but questions have emerged over whether the industry has the capacity to meet these targets. The last peak in housebuilding was in the 1960s, with just 189,000 homes built last year. Labour plans to reintroduce mandatory top-down housebuilding targets for local authorities and force councils to build on the grey belt. However, the construction industry is facing a skills shortage, with 55,000 vacancies and an ageing workforce. Brexit has also led to a loss of EU workers in the sector. Construction apprenticeships are not filling the gap, and the industry needs to provide more secure work and longer contracts. Steve Morgan, founder of Redrow, noted that two of the country's largest brick makers had mothballed some of their kilns. "You can't just go down to Tesco and pick up bricks. It takes time . . . You can't turn it on like a tap." Barratt chief executive David Thomas predicted that in the first two years of the Labour government, between 180,000 and 200,000 homes would most likely be built, before a surge in the latter half of the parliament. 

The Sunday Times (04/08/2024)