Public Sector Newsline – Breaking News August 2008

Energy efficient homes could provide £billion lifeline to construction industry

A report by the Federation of Master Builders has suggested that government policies to make existing homes more energy efficient could provide a £6.5billion lifeline to the construction industry.

The study said that a programme to improve the energy efficiency of 500,000 homes a year could be worth  £3.5-£6.5billion. The figures are based on upgrades, such as the installation of solar panels and solid wall insulation.

Public sector construction cannot offset private sector decline

Public sector construction work will not be enough to offset the decline in private sector spend over the next two years, according to a report produced by construction forecasters.

It is predicted that private sector work will fall 18% to £44billion between now and 2010, and public sector output will fall 5% to £27.2billion. To compensate for the £9.7billion fall in private activity, public sector work would have to rise by 34%. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the public sector only accounts for 35% of the construction market.

The report points to a three-year slump in output between now and 2010.  Volumes across all construction markets are expected to fall by 4% in 2008, 7.5% in 2009 and 3% in 2010.

Housing targets lowered by English partnerships and dropped by London Mayor

The government’s regeneration agency English Partnerships (EP) is to lower it’s housing targets in light of the current housing slump, whilst London Mayor Boris Johnson has formally dropped his predecessor’s 50% affordable housing target for the capital.

EP, which helps to deliver private and social housing by working with developers, is negotiating with the communities department over how much the targets would fall by. 

Meanwhile, Johnson is to act on claims made during his campaign that he did not think the 50% quota was the answer to London’s affordable housing shortage. It will be replaced by a commitment to build 50,000 affordable homes by 2011, and binding pledges for numbers of affordable homes negotiated individually with the boroughs.

Eco-towns under threat as bidders and conservatives withdraw support

The future of the government’s eco-towns is in the balance after the Conservatives and a number of developers withdrew their support.

The Conservatives’ declaration came as a Lincolnshire council short-listed for an eco-town withdrew its bid following local protests and a consortium of public bodies in Cambridgeshire submitted a dossier outlining their reasons for opposing the plans.

Developers behind the shortlisted schemes are now debating what resources to invest in working up their plans, given the likelihood that a Tory government would halt the development of eco-towns.

As a result of the public opposition, Housing Minister Caroline Flint has recently announced that the government will not force through 10 eco-towns, if developers’ proposed schemes do not make the grade as ‘genuine exemplars’ of eco living.