Homebuilder casts doubt on govt plans
Government homebuilding plans "exceptionally difficult" to achieve
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Tuesday, 31, Jul 2007 12:01
Taylor Wimpey has questioned the feasibility of the government's ambitious homebuilding plans.
The construction firm's chief executive Peter Redfern says that it would be "exceptionally difficult" to have built three million new homes by 2020 as specified in the housing green paper.
But he admitted to the Today programme that the government's target was "not impossible".
"You'll have seen from the housing green paper the sort of targets that the government is aiming for over the next two or three years in terms of 70,000 affordable houses, which is a significant ramp-up from where the industry is today," he said.
"There's certainly not enough land coming through the planning system, whether it's for private housing or for affordable housing, to deliver the targets at the moment."
Separately, Taylor Wimpey today announced its first set of financial results since the merger between George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow came into effect on July 3rd.
The homebuilding firm, which has operations in the UK, North America, Spain and Gibraltar, said its profit before tax and exceptional items was £259 million in the six months to June 30th.
A statement said that the firm's integration was "progressing well", with the group on track to make cost savings of £100 million.