Now that there is certainty over the next administration, there is a need for strong leadership to show swift action and delivery on promises made.
Housing
“Top of the agenda should be looking at boosting the UK’s housing stock, which has not kept pace with our increasing population to such a level in recent years that we are now in a deepening housing crisis.
“Before the election, Labour vowed to build 1.5million homes over the next parliament – effectively re-instating the previous Government’s 300,000-a-year targets. But to achieve such ambitious numbers we need to see real change.
“We want to see a radical overhaul of the broken planning system to speed up town hall decision-making by removing red tape and unlocking opportunities for developers. There needs to be real incentives for SME housebuilders to create quality, modern and affordable homes in the right places to boost local economies.
“Building on brownfield land needs to be a major focus, alongside redeveloping some of the 1.55 million properties in England and Wales that sit abandoned and derelict. Together’s own research shows this could deliver over £500billion of much-needed housing.
“The new Government needs to take bold measures to stimulate regeneration of empty and disused property, such as introducing tax breaks. Overall, we need to see much greater collaboration between Local Authorities and developers to form a faster response to the ever-increasing demand.”
SME Business Support
“Wider support for SMEs to help achieve their expansion plans is essential to boost the coffers of UK Plc. Our research found that businesses in the sector wish to invest an estimated £2.4tn over the next two years yet face significant growth barriers hampering their ambitions.
“Stronger support for our estimated 5.5m SME businesses in the form of investment breaks and other benefits from local and national Government will help at a time when businesses struggle to access funding. This could be as a result of heightened cautiousness from mainstream banks, who have tightened their lending criteria.
“Stabilising the dire impact of rising energy, labour and running costs is a must in demonstrating that a new Government understands the specific financial and business needs of the sector.
Ryan Etchells, Chief Commercial Officer, Together
About our partners, Together:
Together has been delivering specialist secured lending for 50 years, using its wealth of expertise and industry knowledge to consider individual circumstances to find a way to help its customers. All applications are considered on their merits and the product range includes residential mortgages, short-term finance, buy-to-let, commercial and semi-commercial mortgages and loans, auction finance and development funding throughout mainland UK.
Based in Cheadle, Cheshire, the company employs more than 750 colleagues and has a loan book of £7billion. For more information go to https://togethermoney.com/