The new Housing Diversification Body is calling for action by Government to deliver on its commitment to support a much wider range of routes to housing development and to boost the number of small-to-medium (SMEs) housebuilders who deliver them.
Housing Diversification is made up of the Federation of Master Builders, the UK Cohousing Network, the National Community Land Trust Network and the National Custom and Self Build Association, working under a common banner.
The new body has a number of aims that it wants Government to meet, including:
- The establishment of a high-level Housing Diversification Taskforce, with a range of items, set out for consideration.
- Commitment to a five-year renewal of the Community Housing Fund as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
- The creation of a robust and statutory system of reporting on diversification as part of Government housing statistics.
The establishment of a high-level Housing Diversification Taskforce is crucial to supporting greater housing diversity and make it easier for the Government to meet its own target of 300,000 new build houses per year.
According to data cited by Housing Diversification, the SME sector could deliver up to 130,000 new homes by 2025, the sector currently builds 20,000 houses annually.
