Homebuilding in Peterborough slows down in wake of Covid-19 restrictions

In the city, 130 new homes were finished between April and June this year, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This was a fall from 330 completed in the same three-month period last year and can be attributed to Covid restrictions hampering planning decisions and temporarily halting the construction industry during lockdown, leading to lay-offs of workers, as well as a shortage of new home buyers in th emarket until restrictions on purchasing and moving home eased over the summer.

It included a rise in social homes built by housing associations and the local authority with 60 finished between April and June, up from 50 last year.

Across the 12 months to June 2020, 880 new homes were finished in Peterborough, a decrease of nine per cent from the previous 12 months.

Numbers in the data have been rounded to the nearest 10 as they include estimates.

Charity Shelter says the country now faces a worsening “housing emergency” and has called on the Government to ramp up a financial package to provide more social housing.

Across England, 16,520 new houses were finished between April and June this year, down from 46,330 in the same three-month period the year before.

The situation has prompted Shelter to call on the Government to invest £12 billion into new low-cost and social homes over the next two years.

Chief executive Polly Neate said: “There are over one million households on social housing waiting lists in England, and sadly many more are likely to join them as the recession bites and more people lose their homes.

“On top of this, we are facing a major housebuilding crash that will make the housing emergency even worse.”

She added: “If private housebuilding nosedives it will cause a major drop in the number of desperately needed social homes too.

“The Government has to act, and fast. We urgently need a rescue package of social housebuilding to avert a lengthy crash that could wipe out tens of thousands of new homes and jobs.”

In Peterborough, construction began on just 20 new homes between April and June this year, down from 310 last year.

And across England the number also fell to 16,460, down 59 per cent from the same three-month period last year.

The Government allowed construction workers at building sites throughout the national lockdown from March, although some developers opted to shut down due to Covid safety concerns. The Government has a target to increase housebuilding to 300,000 new homes a year.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick last month announced a £12 billion investment plan into affordable housing over the next eight years, aimed at supporting the building of 180,000 affordable homes for ownership and rent.

An MHCLG spokesperson said the ministry was “determined” to build more houses quicker, adding it was overhauling the planning system and providing new investment into housing.

The number of new homes is given to the MHCLG by local authorities, some of which did not provide data so estimates are included in the published figures.

The numbers account for new-builds only, built by private developers, housing associations and local authorities.

Thirty-five families have moved into new, affordable homes over the summer thanks to a joint venture between Peterborough City Council and Cross Keys Homes in Eye Green thanks to the work of Medesham Homes.

Ward councillor Steve Allen, said: “It was great to be welcomed back to site and see, from a safe distance, how this development has taken shape over the last year. The development is absolutely stunning, and brings good quality affordable housing to Eye Green; again proving how the City Council’s joint venture with Cross Keys Homes is helping families in our city.”

The development, known as Castle Acre, consists of a mixture of two and three bedroom high quality family homes and has received grant funding support from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to help fund 25 of the new builds. All homes are let under affordable rent tenancies which has helped to ease the demand for much needed affordable housing in Peterborough.

Steve Dayer, Construction Director at Lodge Park Limited and developers of the new site, added: “Thanks to our dedicated team’s hard work and determination we have successfully delivered 35 properties within the build programme, not only meeting the challenges any new build project brings but also the additional challenges lockdown has brought our way.”

In just over two and a half years, Medesham Homes has developed 94 new affordable homes for Peterborough.