Government needs to lift borrowing cap to deliver homes
8th July 2014

The Local Government Association (LGA) is right to be calling on the government to lift the borrowing cap to allow councils to build more new homes.

Responding to the publication of the LGA’s report – Investing in our nation’s future: The first 100 days of the next government – Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said:

“There is a desperate need to build more homes if we are to sustain the economic recovery. It’s very encouraging that the LGA is prioritising housing as an issue in their new report. The FMB has long argued that central government should lift the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap to allow councils to build more new homes. We are also supportive of financing solutions like the ‘build now, pay later’ deferred payment model.”

Berry concluded:

“However, I’m sceptical about the emphasis local authorities place on unimplemented planning permissions because when permission is granted, builders have every incentive to build. Local authorities have a central role to play in enabling the building of more new homes, and where there is a genuine commitment to increasing supply and engage with local house builders, together we can go a long way to meeting the ever-increasing demand for new housing.”

www.fmb.org.uk