Plan for 2,100 homes
New housing in various areas to create thousands of jobs on sites
BARRATT Homes has underlined the positive sentiment currently being felt in the housing market by announcing plans to build nearly 2,100 new homes in Scotland.
The housebuilder said its investment in 13 sites underpins employment for about 4,000 new and existing jobs north of the Border.
Barratt was unable to break down how many new jobs the expansion in Scotland will lead to. But the firm, which credits the Help to Buy scheme with sparking the recovery of the housing market in Scotland, said businesses and those based near the sites would benefit because it largely employs local trades people and sub-contractors on its projects.
The investment comes after Barratt this week reported a 12.5 per cent increase in completions to 6971 across the UK in the first six months of its current financial year. Chief executive Mark Clare said it put the company on track for a “significant improvement in our financial performance for the full year”.
Barratt is building a range of homes to cater different homebuyers at the Scottish sites, from apartments and terraced housed to semi-detached and detached homes. Sites include Renfrew, Glasgow, Bothwell and Hamilton in the west, Edinburgh in the east, and Aberdeen, Inverurie and Newmachar in the north east. The prices of the homes have still to be finalised.
Douglas McLeod, regional director at Barratt Scotland, said: “We have seen demand for new homes expand very quickly over the year and the new sites we are opening mean that there will be more choice for local buyers.
“And it is good news for the local economy, as in addition to supporting existing local construction jobs, as well as creating new ones by building new homes, the local people who move into the new housing will also spend their wages locally.
“This means a significant boost for local retailers as well.”
The expansion drive comes at a time of rapid growth in the Scottish housebuilding sector. Scottish Chambers of Commerce reported that capital investment in the construction sector grew at its fastest rate since 2005 in its latest quarterly survey, published yesterday.
Within that, the survey pointed to the fastest growth in housebuilding orders in 10 years.
Recent statements from housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon have also highlighted the buoyancy of the sector, driven to some extent by Help to Buy which helps people meet the cost of deposits.
Applications are now being sought for the next tranche of funding from the Scottish Government, due in April.
Meanwhile the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has said the scrapping of stamp duty in Scotland in favour of a new land and building transaction tax will deliver a boost to the housing market this year.
Mr McLeod said Help to Buy in Scotland, which was extended this week to allow more people to buy homes from small and medium-sized housebuilder, offered a major boost to first time buyers and people looking to move up the housing ladder.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman confirmed the 2015/16 budget for Help to Buy is £130 million, including the £30 million announced this week for small and medium-sized builders.
“We are seeing ongoing interest in the scheme and substantial support is available to support purchases of new build homes from April 2015 onwards,” she said.