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Jenrick urges house builders to reopen sites as more announce return to work
The housing secretary has said that he hopes to see more house builders return to work as more developers announce plans to reopen sites.
In a statement released last night, Robert Jenrick said: “I welcome developers reopening sites following careful consideration of public health guidance.
“Building the homes the country needs is vitally important. Work in construction can and should continue.
“I hope to see further house builders reopen shortly – once they’ve also worked through how to meet social distancing guidelines and protect their workforce.”
It comes as Persimmon becomes the latest house builder to announce plans to re-open construction sites following the development of new site protocols.
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The organisation originally shut down its sites on the 25 March in response to coronavirus lockdown measures, but is now doing a “phased reopening” starting on Monday.
Yesterday, house builders Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group also announced plans to begin reopening sites with new social distancing measures in place.
Build UK, one of the major bodies representing the construction sector, said it is currently in talks with the Local Government Association to extend permitted working hours on sites in order to improve productivity while new site protocols are in place.
The latest guidance from the Construction Leadership Council advises that construction sites should stay open as long as workers follow social distancing measures, including keeping face-to-face contact to a maximum of 15 minutes.
This advice differs from that being issued by the Scottish government, which states that construction on all non-essential projects, including housebuilding, should be halted for the time being.
Davie Jenkinson, chief executive of Persimmon, said: “The UK government has been very clear on the importance of the construction sector to the UK economy and its desire to see activity continue through the current period of crisis, provided appropriate public health measures are adopted.
"Nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and well-being of the public, our colleagues, sub-contractors and suppliers.
“Having spent the past month developing and testing new site protocols that incorporate the necessary social distancing and protective measures, we believe that we are now able to return to site safely and support the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic.”
