The 2014 budget delivered by the Chancellor George Osborne on 19 March was described as ‘a Budget for building a resilient economy’ and has already been widely debated in the press and by organisations working in the built environment
IHBC Chair Mike Brown said: ‘Of course we welcome the £20m for repairs to cathedrals – this is will help ensure that our cathedrals are in good condition before First World War remembrance services.’
‘However we can only regret the fact that, however unsurprising it might be, the broad base of support for VAT relief for repairs and maintenance of older buildings has not been registered by the Treasury for the boost changes here would bring to the economy.’
‘Moreover we are also disappointed by further proposals regarding permitted development that are again, sadly, not surprising. They continue to reflect the fact that, in government, planning is still seen erroneously as being a break on investment and productivity.’
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has a comprehensive analysis of the likely affect throughout the UK, reporting key announcements for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, highlighting:
• Garden City proposals at Ebbsfleet
• Judicial Review reform
• Nationally Significant Infrastructure Planning Regime Review
• £150 million fund for social housing estate regeneration
• £500 million Builders’ Finance Fund
• Permitted development rights reviewed
• continued support to Enterprise Zones including a pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine
• Glasgow City Deal to drive employment and economic development across the city region
• Wales Bill to devolve new tax and borrowing powers to Wales
The ‘development benefits’ pilot approach is strongly criticised by the RTPI.
Janet Askew, Vice President of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: ‘The RTPI feels that paying individuals directly to accept development is unsupportable. Whilst it is hard to object to pilot schemes, there are better uses of limited resources. The RTPI urges the Government to deploy its time and effort to look at potentially more effective ways to get homes built.’
‘Incentives for individuals to accept development have a number of drawbacks. Proposals that extend an incentive-led approach to individuals may lead to developing areas with fewer objections, rather than identifying the optimum location for communities. They send a signal out from Government that new homes are something which requires compensation, rather than something which addresses need. It is not clear how such incentives would work in relation with other mechanisms to mitigate impact such as section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy.’
The Heritage Alliance reports as follows:
In the 2014 Budget announced on Wednesday 19th March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, confirmed an increase in the VAT threshold from April 2014, but failed to make a targeted reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% on housing and renovation repair. The reduction has been the key ask of the ‘Cut the VAT’ coalition, a group which includes more than 60 charities (including the Heritage Alliance), trade associations and business groups that are all united in calling on all three parties to commit to this VAT reduction.
Loyd Grossman, Chairman of The Heritage Alliance, and leading advocate for a change to VAT, said: ‘I’m very disappointed that the Government hasn’t seen fit to reduce VAT to 5% on repair, maintenance and alteration, despite the compelling evidence produced by the Cut the VAT Coalition that this will boost the economy by more than £15 billion from 2015 to 2020, and create more than 95,000 jobs. The 20% VAT rate to repair, maintenance and adaptation to existing buildings, compared with a zero rating on new build is the greatest barrier to the sustainable use of our historic buildings, and despite the Government’s current disinterest, we will continue to push to make this targeted reduction’.
During his speech in March at the launch event of the latest Experian report, ‘An estimate of the effects of a reduction in the rate of VAT on housing renovation and repair: 2015 to 2020’, Loyd Grossman had pledged the continued support of The Heritage Alliance for the targeted reduction from 20% to 5% on housing renovation and repair. He also urged all political parties to include the proposed reduction in their forthcoming general election manifestos.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) analyses the key housing and transport impacts, and writes:
‘We welcome measures to secure the housing we need in the right places. We need to see a step change in the quality of new development at Ebbsfleet. This means design and master-planning of the highest quality, combining higher density housing with plenty of green space; a serious attempt to tackle car dependency and reduce energy usage; and a connection with the surrounding countryside. Will the Government meet this challenge, or does it just want to build lots of houses as quickly as possible?’
IHBC-partnered ‘Cut the Vat’ research launch
RTPI full budget 2014 analysis
Mineral Products Association press release on aggregates levy and lime
