Following the Government announcement that construction workers are a key group being prioritised for Covid 19 testing we have prepared a detailed paper for government which sets out immediate, short and medium term measures focused on stimulating the housing market.
The focus of government and the whole of society is on tackling the immediate health crisis. As this is brought under control, attention will increasingly turn to recovery and the housing sector has a strong role to play in this.
We’ve identified market interventions that government can introduce to support the housing industry’s response to the impact of Covid-19. Our proposals focus on the known impacts of the virus and interventions to restore momentum to the delivery of new homes in England.
Grouped into immediate, short term and medium term proposals, our recommendations cover the breadth of the challenges in housing from mortgages, planning, land supply and local authority enabling through to dispute mediation and future procurement.
Proposals draw on the views of our cross-sector membership and the operational issues facing housebuilders, developer contractors, housing associations and local authority development teams, specialist consultants, manufacturers and suppliers.
We welcome the announcement that construction workers are to be a key group prioritised for testing. Promotion of their legitimate use of public transport and presence on site is really important.
Addressing Homes for Heroes, one of the demand side measures calls for the ‘Help to Buy’ programme to offer enhanced terms for key workers with additional government loans and a longer interest free period.
View the paperDate:
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