Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Michael Gove has unveiled his plans to reform housing and planning; the Builders Merchants Federation’s (BMF) CEO, John Newcomb, was in attendance to listen to the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities at the RIBA head office in London.
In his speech Gove said he was “confident” the government will meet the manifesto pledge of increasing housebuilding to 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the decade “once we get back to a normal level of interest and mortgage rates.”
Newcomb, said: “We need to get Britain building again. This speech was a step in the right direction in setting out intent to increase accountability in the planning system in order to deal with the root cause of the country’s housing issues, namely a lack of supply.
“We will now study further details of the policy and continue to push for the right conditions to accelerate development and create quality homes that the nation needs.”
Gove also pledged to introduce more accountability for local councils, with league tables for planning authorities.
