Welsh housing association development soars

Carl Sargeant, the minister with responsibility for housing in the Welsh Government, told the sector in May that a “real big push” was needed to meet the target.
The update also revealed a return in local authority development for the first time since April to June 2013.
Flintshire County Council completed 12 homes in the last quarter.
Overall housebuilding rose 27% year-on-year, with 2,066 homes completed.
The total number of starts was 1,853 – up 37% on the previous year and the highest first quarter rate since 2008/09.
Matt Dicks, director of the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, welcomed the figures.
He said: “While the statistics capture an encouraging picture of progress, this momentum must be supported to continue.
“This must include looking at land availability and well-resourced planning departments in addition to construction skills and capacity.
“We also cannot afford to ignore the impact of a future where the sector will not be able to draw on investment from the European Investment Bank.”

Welsh housebuilding data, like English numbers, are based on figures from the National House Building Council, which means there is “a small undercount” as homes registered with other warranty providers are not included.

The report also notes there is chance the contribution of housing associations is undercounted, as they may use a private contractor under a design and build arrangement, with the development being credited to the private developer instead.

Stuart Ropke, chief executive of Community Housing Cymru, said: “While good progress has been made, there’s still some way to go and members are ambitious to continue to ramp up plans to deliver on the target.”

Update: at 13.20, 18.09.201

The story was updated to include a quote from Stuart Ropke.