Berkeley backs Labour housing pledge with promise of 10,000 extra homes
Berkeley Group has endorsed the government’s target to deliver 1.5m homes during the current parliament and said it would start building an additional 10,000 private and affordable homes over the next five years.
This would represent a major increase in Berkeley’s output, with the company delivering more than 3,900 homes across all tenures in the last financial year.
In a letter to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Berkeley chief executive Rob Perrins (pictured) outlined the five key actions that the housebuilder will take to achieve this “ambitious expansion”.
Berkeley Group has endorsed the government’s target to deliver 1.5m homes during the current parliament and said it would start building an additional 10,000 private and affordable homes over the next five years.
This would represent a major increase in Berkeley’s output, with the company delivering more than 3,900 homes across all tenures in the last financial year.
In a letter to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Berkeley chief executive Rob Perrins (pictured) outlined the five key actions that the housebuilder will take to achieve this “ambitious expansion”.
He said Berkeley will invest more working capital into existing long-term projects to accelerate production.
It will also bring new sites into production by securing deliverable planning and statutory approvals for a further 10 major regeneration projects, including Bromley by Bow Gasworks and the potentially transformative Ladywood regeneration in Birmingham.
Additionally, Berkeley will deploy more than £1bn of investment capital into a new build-to-rent platform that will provide 4,000 homes.
Berkeley’s land investment programme will also be reopened, having not bought a significant new site in more than two and a half years, and, finally, the company will maintain a commitment to education and training by ensuring that at least 5% of the workforce is engaged with these areas as the company expands.
Perrins said: “Berkeley is determined to play its full part in supporting the mission to deliver 1.5m new homes. Our ambition to start an additional 10,000 private and affordable homes is stretching, but with a truly collaborative approach it is achievable.
“Success depends on being able to successfully work in partnership across all levels of government, with key regulators such as the Building Safety Regulator, and with statutory consultees of all kinds to work through the practical and economic challenges of each project to find a solution which serves the local community and gets homes built.”
He added: “This is a moment when we can collectively raise our ambitions and work together to better address the national housing emergency. By consistently prioritising the delivery of homes and focusing on directly delivering the amenities that people want to see for their communities, we can build far more of the good green homes we all want to see.”
Photo © Berkeley Group
