The Liberal Democrats’ housing spokesperson Gideon Amos has said small builders should be able to put up a “couple of houses” without planning permission in a bid to free up the sector from planning constraints.
Gideon Amos MP, Lib Dem housing spokesperson, and FMB podcast host Iona Stewart-Richardson
Speaking on the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB’s) podcast, Build Up from the Basement, Amos said he was exploring plans to expand permitted development rights (PDR) so small builders could construct a small number of houses without going through the planning system at all, mirroring how homeowners can build an extension without permission.
“Why not be able to build a couple of houses without planning permission, provided you stick within the same kind of rules?” he said.
“I’d be really interested in exploring how we can free up a whole sector from planning control. They can still meet the same standards. If there’s an infrastructure levy to pay, they could pay the levy.”
Amos, who served as a chartered architect and former town planner, made the comment as he backed the FMB’s new report calling to license the construction industry and stop rogue “cowboy” builders.
Rogue builders have cost consumers £14.3bn over the past five years, according to FMB research, with the economy losing out on £11.2bn a year.
“We all come across people who’ve been let down by cowboy builders – those who close down a company on Friday and open a new one on Monday,” Amos said. “I’m actively looking at whether the Liberal Democrats could incorporate that as our policy.”
He also cited skills challenges, claiming that more than £3bn of the apprenticeship levy was handed back to the Treasury unused between 2020 and 2023. He added that 200,000 EU workers had left UK construction since 2019.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said it was “encouraging that the Liberal Democrats are taking the problem of rogue builders seriously”.
“A staggering £14.3bn has been lost to cowboy builders over the last five years and behind every statistic are homeowners left with homes that are half-finished and families out of pocket with nowhere to turn,” he added.
“Licensing building companies is the single biggest step the government could take to protect consumers and back reputable small builders who are the backbone of the construction sector.”
In April, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said developers should also be forced to build new or expanded GP surgeries as part of every new development in the country.
As part of the party’s local election campaign, Davey said the party would pass a law requiring developers to build or fund new surgeries via taxes levied on them, which would have to be completed by the time residents moved in.
Please visit:
Our Sponsor