Following the PM’s speech at the Labour Party Conference 2025, Sutcliffe CEO Sean Keyes has his say.
Sean Keyes CEO of North West based engineering firm Sutcliffe said,
“We are poised at the front end of the housing renewal agenda, and we welcome the positivity coming out of the Labour Party Conference. The slogan ‘Build Baby Build’ will only work if we take a real handle on radical reform of the planning system in the UK. In 2025 we are on target to build 200,000 homes, so for the UK to hit the 1.5m figure in this parliament will require an 80% increase in projects on the ground. It is fair to say that current pace takes three to four years to progress a small scheme and three to seven years for a large scale housing scheme. So if we are to meet this we need help in getting on site.
“The net effect we saw from the Government’s spending review was delay with a record low in housing. I think it will take us another 12 months to significantly make a difference that will get the pace of projects moving through the system. We are massively supportive and welcoming of this ambition, but the reality is that the industry does not have the skilled workforce to realise this pledge. Words are easy, it’s the action we need and I am cautious of sloganism in politics.”
