Colliers responds to Michael Gove’s building safety repairs announcement
Following the Secretary of State Michael Gove’s announcement of raising £5billion through a Building Safety Levy, Colliers’ experts have shared their views on what this may mean for the housebuilding sector.
Anthony Aitken, head of Planning at Colliers said: “Today’s announcement has quite far-reaching consequences. This additional levy on all new residential development, gives us an insight into the update of CIL that has been promised as part of the new Levelling Up Bill.
“The greatest area of interest is the for those companies still refusing to sign up as they ‘will face consequences’. The inference being from previous debate on this matter that planning permission will not be forthcoming for these companies. Probably the most far-reaching government intervention into the planning system for those seeking to secure planning approval since its introduction in 1947.”
Andrew White, head of Residential added: “This will be a huge relief for leaseholders and while I wholeheartedly agree that swift action needs to be taken to make buildings safe, the Government is targeting those who they think will have the money to solve the cladding crisis which ultimately was a failure of its own making in the first place through poor building regulations and control. In this latest announcement it says they will target insulation suppliers as well, but as yet there’s been little movement on sanctions here, because Government knows they do not have the funding to make a real dent on the changes that are needed to protect residents living in high rise buildings.
“Developers are taking action to make their buildings safe, however additional levies which restrict further viable housing development will only ensure that there’s a continuation of this housing crisis for decades to come.”
