LEADING South Holland housebuilder Ian Canham of Broadgate Homes and district council leader Gary Porter blame the banks’ credit squeeze on mortgages for the drop in construction of new houses.
Both say that scrapping the 106 rule which requires developers to provide a proportion of affordable homes – as a Government report recommends – is not the way to kickstart more homebuilding.
Building of new homes dropped by 10 per cent between March and June this year and the Government is examining all the options and seems poised to at least relax the 106 rule.
Coun Porter said: “I’m against any measure that would reduce the supply of affordable homes in South Holland. Banks could kick-start house building right now, but they are not lending enough to firms or to people who want mortgages.”
Broadgate Homes chief executive Mr Canham said: “The problem isn’t the requirement on us in South Holland to build 33 per cent affordable homes in every development of a certain size.
“It’s poppycock to say relaxing 106 will enable us to build houses because it’s demand that drives the market and demand is much reduced because there’s a lack of finance for people to buy houses.
“People who can’t afford to buy a house at the moment need help and the building industry has to try to help. One way we do that is by building a proportion of affordable homes.
“We’re buying land and building houses in South Holland under the existing 106 agreements and Kier and Taylor Wimpey are building in Spalding again the same way.
“I understand that on some sites in other parts of the country where builders have paid over the odds for the land they may require some degree of relaxation, so some flexibility under special circumstances may be needed.
“But to give carte blanche to developers to build expensive houses without putting in place some other means of financing delivery of affordable housing would take housing in this country back more than 50 years.
“Mixed developments for people with a wide range of incomes are more socially desirable.”