Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Independent builders merchant Bradfords Building Supplies hosted a constituency visit for Gideon Amos OBE MP, the MP for Taunton & Wellington, to show him how it helps his constituents to build new homes and improve existing properties.
Amos MP, a qualified urban designer and chartered architect, is the Lib Dems’ Housing and Planning Spokesman in the House of Commons. He was welcomed by CEO David Young, regional director Jason Morris, and the Builders Merchants’ Federation’s Brett Amphlett. The MP heard how merchants and their SME trade customers have managed in recent times with higher prices and rising fuel, employment and other costs.
He said: “Having trained as an architect and worked on building sites myself, it was a pleasure to visit Bradfords Building Supplies to meet the staff. I want to thank David, Jason and their team for the benefits Bradfords, still a family firm, bring Taunton including employing some of our ex-servicemen and former Royal Marine commandos”.
“I was keen to hear about their new approaches to helping nature and reducing emissions and pollution. We all want our buildings to tread lightly on the land and it was great to see how Bradfords are seizing the business opportunities that creates”.
Young told the MP that merchants and local house-builders want ministers to set out a properly-structured, costed and long-term plan to build 3½ or 4 million new homes in England over the 10 years – rather than scratch around trying to build 300,000 homes per year, and that, to do this, barriers have to be removed – notably the capability & capacity in local planning authorities – and the long-standing problem of phosphate & nitrate pollution.
Young said: “We were pleased to welcome Gideon today and show him how Bradfords has evolved since we began in 1770. It is great to have our MP take an interest in merchants like ours and offering his professional insight and local support to help Somerset businesses to keep going”.
“Running a successful business is far harder than it was back then. The brake on local housing delivery caused by nutrient neutrality over the last 5 years is a case in point. Every day it remains unresolved makes it more difficult and time-consuming to be a financially-stable business, offering good jobs, and paying our way as a good local employer”.
