England has got quite a lot to learn from what Scotland has done
THE chief executive of housebuilder Avant Homes has signalled Theresa May’s Government has “a lot to learn” from Scotland’s approach to the Help to Buy equity initiative for new home purchases.
And Colin Lewis has issued a plea with ministers north of the Border to extend the scheme, which is due to conclude at the end of the next financial year.
Mr Lewis said the Scottish model – which has a threshold of £200,000 – should be copied south of the Border to ensure there is a more even spread from the capital base made available by Westminster to help buyers.
Currently, the threshold in England and Wales is £600,000 and Mr Lewis said this encouraged housebuilders to build more expensive homes, but not necessarily more of them.
“If the limit was reduced to £200,000 the pot of money available for Help to Buy would be spread to more people because you are taking less each time,” he said. “It supports the market at the right point in Scotland. England has got quite a lot to learn from what Scotland has done.”
The Prime Minister made a promise to “take personal charge” of the housing crisis and last week outlined changes to the planning system, but Mr Lewis said the issue is “not just where we build, it’s what we build”.
In Scotland, the scheme initially launched in 2013 and will have committed £508 million when the second tranche ends in 2019.
“I would hope the Scottish Government does a sensible review of the benefits Help to Buy has brought to the Scottish public, and conclude this is a subsidy that has worked,” he said. “So please, Scottish Government, look to find some more money and carry on with the scheme as you’ve got it.”
His comments come as Avant set a target to build 4,000 homes per year by 2023, doubling its current output. Mr Lewis said this strategy aimed to spread the growth across its seven “regions”, of which Scotland is one.
This is in line with a previously revealed target of building 600 homes in Scotland annually. And Mr Lewis said such was the company’s growth in Scotland, it may necessitate a dividing of its Scottish office, based in Stirling, into east and west businesses.
In a trading update Avant said it was on track to delivery revenue growth of about 25 per cent for the year to April 27, which would lift revenue to about £460m.
The company also said it would achieve its 2015 target of building 2,000 homes annually one year ahead of schedule. Sales per site per week reached 0.85 over the first eight weeks of 2018.
Mr Lewis said the group had made “exceptional” progress over the last few years, adding that he was “really happy” with the performance in Scotland.
The group has used sites at Denny and High Blantyre to trial a range of houses under the £200,000 price mark and Mr Lewis said it had proved so successful the house types would be rolled out across England.
New developments at Cairneyhill, Gartcosh and Bishopton have led to the creation of 180 jobs in the past year, said Avant. Last month planning permission was secured on a £21m 100 home development at Armadale.