As you may have seen, the Government recently announced a target to build one million homes across England by 2020.
But according to a National Housing Federation (NHF) report, only 457,490 were actually built between 2011 and 2014, just over 50 per cent of the 974,000 the body said were needed.
So what was the reason for the deficit? Looking at the causes, the NHF suggests numerous factors were at play, including inefficient planning procedures, a lack of qualified tradespeople and a shortage of key materials.
The Government’s new ambitious target will undoubtedly put additional pressure on housebuilding companies to deliver much needed housing stock but while planning issues and the skills gap are somewhat out of the direct influence of housebuilders, the supply of materials is something they can have control over.
To keep track of all the products needed for each of their projects, housebuilders can use electronic systems. Using product management software, such as an inventory system, allows companies to pre-order materials for each stage of a project, making the delivery process to run as smoothly as possible.
To support housebuilding companies with meeting project time constraints, suppliers must go to great lengths to make sure that next day delivery is offered on products. This ensures that project teams get the materials they need, exactly when they need them.
Jewson has created some innovative programmes to support housebuilders with meeting time deadlines during a project, one of which is the introduction of dedicated branches for large scale projects. The Jewson dedicated house building team is also on hand to provide advice or guidance when required and will supply building materials straight from the branch to the project site.
So while we might not be able to help push a project through planning, via our specialist housebuilding team, we can help developers ensure they’ve got the materials they need when they need them which goes some way to help achieve the 2020 housebuilding target.