Earlier this week the UK Government made the decision to invest in house-building initiatives, to stimulate growth in this sector and address the lack of housing in the UK.
Building more homes is one of the government’s economic priorities, as the number of new homes built per year is equal to that during World War II after 121,200 new homes were made available in 2010-11, half of what ministers say are needed. This is coupled with the high prices of rent and home prices while mortgage lending is still restricted.
The new initiative intends to invest £400 million to fund new developments and £150 million to refit empty housing to get more houses built. This means that the demand for workers in the construction industry including qualified plumbers, electricians and gas fitters will increase.
Prime Minister David Cameron said of the new initiatives:
“When first-time buyers on a good salary cannot get a reasonable mortgage, the whole market grinds to a halt …and that ricochets around the economy, affecting builders, retailers, plumbers – all the people that depend on a housing market that is moving.”
Underpinning the proposals buyers of new homes will be able to borrow up to 95% of their value as part of plans the government says will help get “Britain building again”. The scheme, in which the government will underwrite part of the risk to lenders, could help up to 100,000 people in England.
Property developers will compete for a part of the £400m to take forward projects which meet the right criteria, among them a commitment to affordable homes.
This initiative will begin in July and aims to lead to 16,000 new homes being built, providing work for 32,000 people.
It is hoped that about 450,000 mainly affordable homes will be built by 2015, many of them on publicly-owned Brownfield sites, although the government is not setting any specific targets.
This is good news for those in the construction industry and for those considering becoming part of it, whether they take any related course such as; gas, electrical or plumbing courses. #
This scheme will increase the demand for those in the related industry to get the properties up and running. Jobs will also be created once these have been built as every home will always require maintenance work on the property.
If you would like to be a part of the effort to get more affordable housing built by becoming a plumber, electrician or gas fitter call us FREE today to find out more about the courses we now have on offer.
