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Mark White, Managing Director for Hampshire-based premium housebuilder Bargate Homes, said: “If welcome announcements are not made during tomorrow’s Spring Budget address, the Chancellor risks stifling growth at a fragile time for the UK’s economy.
“If corporation tax is to rise from 19% to 25%, businesses need the opportunity to make more profit to fund it. If housebuilders could build more homes, we could make more profit and tax revenue. However, the planning and environmental policy changes are achieving the total opposite. For this government to stay in power beyond the next election, it needs to promote housebuilding. It is such a huge and vital industry that supports the wider economy, and the lack of appropriate, sustainable, and affordable housing may become an increasingly divisive political issue.
“We took a look at our own numbers for January and February and found it alarming that only 8% of Bargate’s homes have been sold to first time buyers over those two months. This is a 50% reduction in first time buyer sales, compared to those same two months in 2022. Meanwhile, rents are going up disproportionately to inflation, which is making it harder for people to save for a deposit, and yet, with the end of Help to Buy, mortgage deposit requirements are higher than they have been for well over a decade. It is very unhealthy for thousands of would be first time buyers to drop out of the market. Help to Buy worked well. Why wouldn’t you reintroduce it?
“Feed-in tariffs should be reintroduced for homeowners with solar panels, to reward people for supplying renewable energy back to the grid. Tax breaks for investing in renewable energy generation and smart home technology would also deliver a clear and very welcome message.
“There would be absolutely no benefit at all in going through with April’s proposed change to the energy bill support scheme. Jeremy Hunt must also keep to the status quo regarding fuel duty tax and not increase it, as it would have a catastrophic impact on food, and raw material costs at a time when supplies are already limited, and inflation needs to be curtailed.
“The government wants to lure early retirees back to work, but we see far more benefit in incentivising businesses to train and employ young people. We passionately believe in the future generation and want to overcome the perception that housebuilding isn’t as fashionable or as lucrative as other professions. New tax credits to train and transition students to work across various skilled site and office-based roles would encourage housebuilders to make a significant investment and allocate the right resources. Now is the time for the government to think about the next decade, not just the next political event.”
Bargate Homes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vivid – Hampshire’s largest provider of affordable homes. Established in 2006, the company builds select developments in prime locations across Hampshire, Dorset, and West Sussex. The company is currently delivering 900 homes across six live developments and has a pipeline of future sites expected to deliver in excess of 2,500 new homes.
