Housebuilders have hit back at the government’s “anti-development” plan to push ahead with a £3bn levy to pay for fire safety repairs, saying the plan will punish “innocent” firms for the failures of “the few”.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities yesterday published a consultation on the Building Safety Levy, through which it plans to raise £3bn over 10 years to pay for the remediation of “orphan” buildings where no owner can be traced.

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