The Business Desk - May 2024

“Saghir Hussain, CEO of Manchester based architect firm Create It Studios, said: “Labour’s early pledge to reform the planning system, build more homes and create new towns, is a clear sign that housing is going to be seen as a key issue in the run up to the General Election. Introducing housing targets and overhauling the planning system is only going to be worth doing if funding is made available for well staffed planning teams. Without this new homes are going to remain hard to push forward.

I would also like to see greater support for SME developers as part of the strategy during the next Government. Within the regions these developers have the potential to be the lifeblood of new home delivery, but it is currently challenging for them to design new sites that are practically and financially feasible.

As in industry in the North West, we have sat and watched funding pumped into the south for the regeneration of new towns, so we can only hope that greater focus will be on creating new towns within reach of cities like Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.”