What does the Budget 2014 mean for the construction industry?
18th February 2020
A week after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the 2014 Budget the dust has settled. A number of announcements made will affect the construction industry, which is one of the key sectors we operate in. Therefore we wanted to share some highlights from the Budget 2014 with our clients:
* A new Planning Court will be launched on 6 April 2014 to fast-track disputes, including big construction projects
* A garden city with an initial 15,000 homes will be built at Ebbsfleet in Kent
* Confirmation of a £270m UK Guarantee for the Mersey Gateway
* The government will review the General Permitted Development Order. The refreshed approach is based on a three-tier system to decide the appropriate level of permission, using permitted development rights for small-scale changes, prior approval rights for development requiring consideration of specific issues, and planning permission for the largest scale development
* The government will launch a government-funded staged pilot for passing a share of the benefits of development directly to individual households, including further research and evaluation of the approach
* The government will provide £20 million for a grant scheme for repairs to cathedrals
* The government will consult on a new Right to Build giving custom builders a right to a plot from councils and test the operation of this approach with vanguard local authorities. The government will also create a £150 million repayable loan scheme to provide up to 10,000 serviced plots, and will look to extend the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme to cover custom build
* A £500m Builders’ Finance Fund, to provide loans to developers to unlock 15,000 housing units stalled due to difficulty in accessing finance
* The government will introduce a £150 million fund to kick start regeneration of social housing estates through repayable loans
* It will consult on creating a new Right to Build policy for people who want to build their own homes as well as the creation of a £150m fund for custom build. The £150m repayable fund will help provide up to 10,000 serviced plots for custom build
* The government is also consulting on ways to make the Help to Buy scheme available for custom build
* It will provide an extra £85m in 2014/15 and 2015/16 for more than 100,000 apprenticeship grants to employers under the Apprenticeship Grants for Employers scheme
* The government will increase funding by £140 million over 2014-15 and 2015-16 to repair and maintain flood defences.
**The continued growth in the economy and positive forecasts are welcoming signs for the construction and house building industries. MPW is pleased at the measures announced that will support these industries and help drive them forward.**
