Scottish housebuilder Cala Group said yesterday it welcomed fresh commitments to ramp up the pace of construction of new homes south of the border.
The UK Government and Home Builders Federation, a trade association for England and Wales, have together agreed to build twice the 2010 total for new homes by 2019.
Cala, which is based in Edinburgh these days but has its roots in Aberdeen, builds upmarket homes in Scotland and affluent parts of England.
Alan Brown, the company’s chief executive, said: “This statement of intent represents an extremely positive step towards removing some of the barriers that have historically subdued the delivery of new homes in the UK.
“We are working hard to support the government’s target of 1million new homes by 2020.
“We have already more than doubled our annual volumes from 449 homes in 2010 to 993 last year and we remain on track to increase our production still further, building between 2,000 to 2,500 homes per year by 2018 based on current market conditions.”
He added: “The real key to unlocking the current housing supply shortfall will be to increase funding and pressure on planning authorities to speed up the approvals process for homes that truly meet local needs.
“While the overall number of outline planning consents is rising, most local authorities still lack the necessary resources to convert these … into detailed consents – something that housebuilders need before construction can commence on site.”
Cala stands for City of Aberdeen Land Association and was founded in the north-east in 1875.
