Home » Business » Real Estate
UK to clear barriers to building new houses
Print Edition
BRITAIN’S government said yesterday it would remove obstacles to building new houses as it tries to tackle a chronic shortage of homes and put its economy on a sounder footing.
At the center of a new program to boost Britain’s poor productivity record are powers for the government to step in and draw up housing plans if local authorities fail to do so.
Town halls that drag their feet on planning decisions may be fined, the government said as it moved to reduce the delays for housing projects that are often caused by local objections.
The plan follows the first government budget since Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party won national elections in May.
Britain’s economy has grown strongly over the past two years and the number of people in work has hit a record high. But growth in output per worker lags behind that in many other advanced countries, posing a threat to the recovery.
“In stark terms, it now takes a worker in the UK five days to produce what his or her counterparts in Germany can deliver in four,” Business Minister Sajid Javid said.
The new plan brings together existing proposals in transport, trade and the devolution of power to cities and regions. It also focuses on training which critics say lags far behind other European countries.
Javid said it was unacceptable that Britain was one of the few advanced countries where the skills of 16- to 24-year-olds were no better than those of 55- to 64-year-olds. Finance Minister George Osborne said that in the last 25 years, France had built more than 4,000 kilometers of motorway while Britain had built just 300.
But the housing rule changes are the program’s centerpiece. British house prices have surged in the last two years to record highs, pushed up in part by government measures to make it easier for people to get mortgages. The government hopes a nimbler land and housing market will make it easier for people to own homes close to their work and give firms more freedom of location.
“We all know that the UK needs to build masses more homes but for years all we’ve had is policies to help ever increasing numbers of people to buy too few properties,” Andrew Allen, head of global property strategy at Aberdeen Asset Management.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
