The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement should give Merseyside housing associations “greater freedoms” over what they focus their energy on when it is announced today (25 November), according to one industry expert.
As George Osborne prepares to combine a spending review with the annual Autumn Statement, which will update the government’s plans for the economy, Karen Campbell-Williams (pictured), of business advisors, Grant Thornton highlights the challenges currently faced by the housing sector in the whole of the North West.
Karen, the firm’s head of tax for the region, says: “Housing continues to be a significant challenge for the North West – in particular the supply of residential property both for sale and the Private Rented Sector (PRS). There’s a great deal of interest in the PRS schemes around the region from a property development perspective but the structural shortage of housing needs to be addressed by a combination of the public and private sector.
Karen’s call comes amid reports that the Chancellor is expected to announce a housebuilding boost, including cash for developers to build new ‘starter homes’ targeted at first-time buyers.
She adds: “The Autumn Statement is an opportunity to give social housing providers more opportunity to set their own rents based on local markets and to allow greater freedoms in determining what housing associations can focus their energy on.
“A vibrant rental sector increases social mobility, making moving for new job opportunities easier, for example. To achieve the house building required to meet demand, the UK needs to consider incentives to build ‘for rent’ housing, for instance through planning obligations.
“Overall, the key to building attractive residential properties is also to ensure that facilities are available, such as transport links, shops, doctors and schools, so infrastructure is important, linking in with other public service such as education and health.”
