Construction reacts to the Queen’s speech

"The construction industry is looking for a swift resolution to Brexit and an agreement that will protect our economy. Achieving this outcome will give the public and private sector the confidence to push forward with project pipelines that have stalled, due to the recent years of uncertainty.” 

Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive

“A skilled construction workforce will be critical to delivering on the government’s plans for infrastructure and housing set out in today’s Queen’s speech. Over half of small builders are struggling to recruit a bricklayer or carpenter, yet it could prove very difficult to fill these roles from outside the UK under the proposed points-based immigration system.”
Brian Berry, Federation of Master Builders chief executive

“It is clear that government is preparing to invest considerable sums of money in the UK’s infrastructure, and its strategy will be the opportunity to set out a predictable spending plan that looks well beyond the next decade, with clear objectives and ownership within government.”

Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission

“While we welcome measures to cut business rates to rejuvenate the high street, this must not come at the cost of properly resourcing planners and local authorities to deliver the sustainable places that people want to live in."
Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute

“Overall, the Queen’s speech was the cat that didn’t meow. This isn’t surprising given the policy-lite Conservative manifesto. On housing, the government knows it can’t claim to deliver the “people’s priorities” unless it houses all of the people. If it survives consultation, a first homes programme of permanently discounted homes for local residents and key workers would help heal the divide that scars our society – the housed and the unhoused.”

Bruce Dear, head of London real estate at Eversheds Sutherland

"The [building safety] bill will focus on ensuring new buildings are safe, but the far larger issue is existing buildings and the importance of the work that falls within the government’s wider building safety programme and touches on so many other people and organisations.”
Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the British Property Federation

“There are a number of major decisions that await in prime minister Boris Johnson’s inbox, not least to determine the future of HS2, Heathrow expansion, and the new roads investment strategy. We would like the prime minister to seize the bull by the horns, guarantee these schemes as expeditiously as possible, and unleash the ‘infrastructure revolution’ his party has promised.”

Marie-Claude Hemming, director of external affairs for Civil Engineering Contractors Association 

“With the race to net-zero by 2050 firmly on, the onus is on architects, developers, and investors to develop new business models required to step-up to the challenges posed by the climate crisis, reflecting an industry with a long-term approach.”
Asif Din, sustainability director at Perkins and Will

"From recognising the need for planning reform and extra transport infrastructure to prioritising science and tech there was a lot to welcome in the Queen's speech but vague talk of communities greater control over how investment is a potential recipe for boosting nimbyism."

Mike Derbyshire, head of planning at Bidwells

 

“After we leave the European Union, environmental protections and climate policies must be as strong as – or stronger than – they are today."
John Alker, director of policy and places at UK Green Building Council

"After heavy pro-homeownership rhetoric during the election this Queen's Speech was a welcome sign of a more balanced approach to housing with greater protections for tenants, planning reform to increase supply, alongside discounted homes for sale for local buyers and key workers."

Jean-Marc Vandevivere, CEO of PLATFORM_