Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement on the proposed Planning-gain Supplement (PGS) in today’s Pre-Budget Report, HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley says:
“Britain needs more new homes. The jury is still out if the Planning-gain Supplement (PGS) will help or hinder the Government meet its target of 200,000 homes per year by 2016. We agree that the provision of adequate infrastructure is imperative for new housing developments. We are also pleased that the Chancellor has listened to the concerns of the industry in allowing further time for consultation over the proposed Planning-gain Supplement.
“We welcome the assurance that schemes with extant planning permission will be exempt from the PGS, although we would like to see this extended to schemes in the planning pipeline.
“We are grateful that the Government is consulting further on the more complex aspects of the proposals. It is vital for the housing industry that a stable and predictable fiscal regime is implemented, in order to provide the best possible environment for developers to build the new homes which the country so desperately needs.”
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Notes for Editors
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for over 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk
Independent research co-sponsored by HBF and published on 19 September 2006 raised concerns that the current draft PGS proposals would not provide sufficient funding for new local infrastructure –
PGS Final Report
According to DCLG’s land use change statistics, the total amount of land developed for housing annually has fallen by 10% between 1997 and 2003
For media information, please contact:
Paul Boulter
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