This past week there have been two major announcements for the house building sector, one being the Homes England annual report, and the other being the Chancellor’s Spending Review. Both have outlined a promising future for our industry, which we are proud to be a part of.

The Spending Review included £2.3bn of new funding to be pumped into housing over the next four years.

Sean Keyes, managing director at Sutcliffe, said:

“I absolutely welcome today’s commitment from the Government. The way big spending projects have traditionally been assessed has been a longstanding issue in this country that has facilitated a north-south divide. I have always said that the social value of these projects should be taken into more consideration – not just monetary. Then and only then will we see the areas that need these projects the most get a bigger share of the pie.

“Again, I am pleased to see a spending pledge for the NHS. As healthcare specialists, we see first hand the need in this country for good quality healthcare facilities – hospitals are underfunded, there is no getting away from that fact. We need bigger, better hospitals, with more staff, especially as the country faces a health crisis once the effects of the pandemic subside. All I would ask is that hospital spending is done in a strategic way so we avoid other PFI disasters.

“With regards to the £4.6bn package to help hundreds of thousands of jobless back to work – all I would ask is that this is targeted towards SMEs. The majority of companies in this country are SMEs and it is they who will react the quickest, creating quality, skilled, professional jobs for the unemployed.”

The Spending Review also comes after Homes England released its annual report, which cited promising figures. 

In the past year, Homes England has been able to invest £73m through the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund that will ultimately unlock 70,000 homes that enhance communities and grow local economies.

Separate funding deals with 18 Local Authorities worth £95m was also secured, as part of The Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) Programme for infrastructure and remediation.

Sutcliffe is encouraged and thrilled to see that funding for affordable housing has been secured during such a turbulent year. The house building landscape is looking very promising going into 2021, despite the effects of the ongoing pandemic.