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Housing Shortage at Crisis Point
| nBuilding work in Britain is reportedly at its lowest level since World War II and only eight councils in England and Wales are providing enough affordable homes to meet local demand for housing, according to recent figures. The Home Builders Federation found that almost 5 million people are on council housing waiting lists and 1.Six million children are living in poor conditions of inadequate housing. The problem is not confined to public sector housing, either, with many first-time buyers in the private sector struggling to get onto the property ladder because of lack of supply.nnIn fact, the Get Britain Building campaign says in its General Election Manifesto, subtitled "More homes and less carbon", that only 80,000 homes were built last year and forecasts only 92,000 will be built this year, still not enough to meet demand. The campaign is calling for the government to put building new homes and renovating existing ones at the heart of its policies for economic recovery. Building new homes accounts for 14% of all building activity and is worth ?40 billion, while the renovation market is worth anything between ?3.5 billion and ?6.5 billion, according to the campaign. nnFurthermore, building and renovation projects not only boost the economy in the short-term, but can reduce homelessness, health and social care costs in the long-term, the campaign said. Amongst the campaign's suggestions are the completion of existing housing projects and the commencement of new ones, the renovation of empty homes to make them fit for human habitation and the refurbishment of existing homes to make them more energy efficient. nnPrime Minister Gordon Brown has already announced an investment of ?1.Five billion pounds is put into the housing industry to allow 20,000 new, energy efficient homes to be built for the public during the next two years. A further 10,000 homes will be built in the private sector and the restarting of housing projects under the so-called Kickstart programme could also produce up to 13,000 more new homes. nnMore building activity is, obviously, a positive thing for all of those involved directly, or indirectly, in the building industry. Those involved in installation and services, such as gas, electricity, plumbing, doors and windows are likely to benefit just as much as those involved in planning, architecture and construction and perhaps more so in the case of renovation projects. New door hardware, such as locks, latches and security seals, not to mention handles and hinges can go a long way to reviving tired exterior or interior doors without the cost of replacement, whilst some painting and decorating and minor repairs may be all that are needed to bring the rest of an empty property back to life. |
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Tom Smith - Product Information Manager - http://www.IronmongeryDirect.co.uknGet a Unique Version of this Article Article Marketing
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