build homes

TV presenter and architect George Clarke looks at the global shortage of construction materials.

The global pandemic has been difficult for everyone. I still remember the turmoil in the first few weeks of the national lockdown with everyone trying to work out what we could do and couldn’t do.

Construction was allowed to continue and was seen as ‘essential work’ to the UK economy.

However, there was still massive disruption across the industry. Fearful of catching the virus some construction workers simply wouldn’t turn up to work, others found it difficult to travel to physically get to site.
 
Some would catch the virus and have to self-isolate for weeks, others would catch the virus and not make it through. My heart goes out to anyone who lost a friend or relative to Covid.

Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association (NRHA) is breaking new ground with an innovative affordable housing pilot project in Norton near Daventry.
Working in partnership with Norton Parish Council, Snowdon Homes and Orbit Homes, NRHA has submitted a planning application for a scheme comprising eight affordable homes, two properties for local market sale and two, four bedroom self-build plots.

British housebuilding company Persimmon have announced that they have amassed enough land to build more than 100,000 homes over the coming years; now all they need is policy certainty!

In their latest full year report, Persimmon said that their land holdings now total 17,000 acres, on which it can build over 100,000 homes.

Their output increased last year, with legal completions up from 11,528 in 2013 to 13,509 in 2014 (a 17% increase.) They intend to keep the growth going into this year, with plans to begin construction on 400 active sites throughout 2015.