West London independent Lords Builders Merchants welcomed Rupa Huq MP to its business in Park Royal, Ealing.

Dr Huq was shown round by Shanker Patel, Lords chief executive, and John Murphy, Branch Manager, in order to discuss issues affecting the supply chain and the wider London economy. These included narrowing the gap between housing demand, the Mayor of London’s Housing Strategy and the new draft London Plan.

If Londoners are to see the 66,000 new homes a year they need, one solution is a stronger emphasis on developing small sites that SME builders can undertake. According to Patel, better use has to be made of existing buildings and building upwards to add extra storeys must also be part of the package to deliver more homes in the capital.

After visiting the 2-acre site, the MP said: “I was delighted to visit Lords here in the constituency and see for myself their contribution to Ealing and the wider London economy. I pay tribute to branch manager, John Murphy and his team in helping customers with their building projects.

“Housing is central to my Party’s thinking and we want to see better quality and more affordable housing in London if we are to improve the lives of constituents. This week, we saw another new Housing Minister appointed, meaning that there has been seven Housing Ministers in the last seven years, and three in the last seven months. This is not helpful to firms like Lords that want certainty and stability in housing and planning policy to be able to invest confidently in people and products”.

Patel, said: “I was grateful to Dr Huq for taking time to come today and gain further insight into our supply chain. We wanted to show her that builders’ merchants like Lords offer good jobs and rewarding careers, to people of all ages, and serve local communities in helping to improve their homes. “Lords and the BMF are pleased that housing remains at the top of the political agenda and that MPs like Rupa Huq recognise the urgent need to build many more new homes. Merchants want to see unstinting efforts by both national government in Whitehall and local authorities in London to narrow the gap between housing demand and supply”
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