Sadiq Khan: London home-building ‘at risk of stalling’ amid hiked construction costs
Skyrocketing construction materials are slowing house-building progress in London, Sadiq Khan has warned.
The Mayor of London warned new-build developments and extension projects were being hit by a cocktail of rising costs thanks to Brexit and the pandemic.
Prices for materials, including steel, timber, and concrete, shot up 23 per cent last year, according to government figures.
One development in south east London has experienced costs rising 45 per cent based on tender returns, Khan said.
A south London borough saw cost inflation leap 17 per cent while one in the north east said it had seen average cost increases across the board of around 10 per cent.
The Mayor called on the government to issue more grant funding for affordable housing as London councils and housing associations face added pressures.
Nearly all builders surveyed by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said they had experienced such headwinds, with 95 per cent of builders seeing a jump in costs.
Three quarters of builders said they had hiked prices for their work in response to the increased costs.
Building firms have also been afflicted by labour shortages, with the UK vacancy rate in construction hitting its highest recorded level since 2001.
The Mayor has called for visa rules to be eased to allow workers from overseas to fill vacancies in sectors in dire need of staff.
“Put simply, materials and labour are needed to build homes,” Khan said. Earlier this month, I called on the Government to create a temporary visa scheme for construction workers, which would go some way towards alleviating the debilitating double impact of Brexit and the pandemic on the building industry.
“I am also calling on ministers to provide the increased funding for genuinely affordable housing in London that I have long called for and which is needed now more than ever.
“Without bricks and mortar, and enough skilled workers, the excellent progress we have made in delivering the good quality and genuinely affordable homes that Londoners need is at risk of stalling.”