星空传媒

The ODPM will not get the 鈥渟tep change鈥� it wants in housing supply unless the government releases more land to private developers and speeds up the planning system, a major housebuilder said on Tuesday.

Peter Johnson, chief executive of George Wimpey Homes, was speaking at the House Builders Federation annual conference.

Taking the stage shortly after housing minister Keith Hill, Johnson said: 鈥淥ur primary business is private, not social, housing.

鈥淚f you release extra land for just social and not private housing, you risk huge social ramifications, as people will not be able to realise their aspirations of buying their own home as easily as they might.

鈥淭he planning changes the ODPM has made, while well intentioned, will not deliver the extra homes the government wants.鈥�

Under current proposals the ODPM plans to maintain the current level of completions at about 140,000 each year until 2016, plus an extra 200,000 in the four housing growth areas.

Johnson added that slowing house price inflation was of more immediate concern to housebuilders. Prices in August were up just 0.1% on the previous month, according to Nationwide.

鈥淲hy should we use up land 鈥� a desperately scarce resource 鈥� at such poor current margins?鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淚f the government doesn鈥檛 do something on supply of land [to allow more housebuilding], public listed companies can鈥檛 be expected to do that for it.鈥�

He added that if the planning regime were not so slow, Wimpey would be able to build an extra 2500 homes each year in the UK.

An ODPM spokesman said: 鈥淜eith Hill is convinced that housebuilders should take a more robust approach to the number of homes they build. Housing supply has to increase.鈥�

Speaking at the same event, Neil Hadden, Housing Corporation deputy chief executive, confirmed that 拢200m had been set aside for a pilot programme to pay social housing grant to non-housing associations. The corporation will ask for expressions of interest in February 2005 and detailed bids in April.

In her speech economist Kate Barker said she 鈥渨ould have liked a little more money for social housing鈥� as part of July鈥檚 comprehensive spending review.

In her review of housing supply that was published in March, Barker had called for 拢1.6bn to be spent on an additional 23,000 social homes each year. The Treasury allocated an extra 拢1.3bn by 2007/08.

However, she added that she felt there would still be an increase in the number of social homes delivered this year.