‘Constant flow’ of new towns needed if products sector is to ramp up capacity, Lords told

The construction products industry needs certainty that planned new towns will go ahead on the scale promised, a House of Lords committee has been told.

The built environment committee this morning kicked off a new inquiry, entitled ‘New Towns: Bricks and Mortar’, in which it heard evidence from three representatives of the products sector.

Rebecca Larkin, head of construction research at the Construction Products Association, said that “early engagement with the supply chain is absolutely key” to the success of the government’s proposed programme of new urban developments. 

But she emphasised that “it does have to be a constant pipeline”, explaining that “the industry has been so disappointed over decades of major projects or major schemes of projects not coming through, it’s easy to lose confidence in large government announcements about new towns.”

In March, the government announced it had pared back the programme, which concerns developments of more than 10,000 homes, to seven schemes, out of the 12 identified by its task force. 

Enfield Council subsequently withdrew its support from the Crews Hill scheme after a change in administration, although it is understood that the mayor of London and housing ministry intend to press ahead with the project regardless.

Asked by Baroness Lawrence whether the sector was “ready to go” for the new towns programme, there was some hesitation and laughter among the witnesses, before Larkin answered.

“I think the industry can be ready to go if we have some sort of support now that can prevent further mothballing of manufacturing capacity, and if we can have the certainty that new towns will come through,” she said.

“It can’t just be one new town. Manufacturers don’t want to bring back plants, and then have nothing after the first new town. There needs to be a constant flow of the new towns coming through.

“So we can [be ready to go], but we need the confidence”.

Discussing the kind of support needed to maintain capacity in the sector, David Hopkins, chief executive of Timber Development UK, said “a stimulus for construction” would have a positive knock-on effect for product manufacturers.

Larking said “a short-term time limited stimulus for house building is something that we hear [endorsed] across the industry”, suggesting equity loan or funding for lending schemes as examples of how the government could support demand.  

Katherine Adams, technical director at the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, said it was important that the new town programme came with a joined-up strategy for materials.

“I think we now lack a national construction materials strategy,” she said, suggesting the the government should “map what materials we need for new towns” in order to avoid capacity and shortage issues.