Industry welcomes new housing minister Grant Shapps

Leading property bodies have welcomed the appointment of Grant Shapps as housing minister.     Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “We congratulate Grant on his appointment to the role which, under Labour, had the biggest staff turnover of any government position.     “We have dealt extensively with him during his tenure as shadow minister and his extensive grasp of the sector’s many issues will mean he can get down to business right away. His enthusiasm and ideas will go a long way to helping reshape our housing industry, but there will be numerous challenges ahead.     ““While scrapping Hips will be welcomed by all, it still leaves us with the problem of greening the country’s homes. With no hope of zero carbon homes appearing in 2016 as Labour promised, Britain risks lagging behind Sweden and Germany who all have very aggressive strategies for tackling climate change.     “What we know is that any demands on developers have to be workable and asking for mini power stations next to each housing development simply will not work, neither financially nor practically.       “Grant has indicated his support for helping establish a professional rented sector and we very much look forward to working with him and his team over the years ahead.”     The National Landlords Association has also welcomed the appointment. However, the trade body raised concerns that the role would no longer be a cabinet position after Shapps was not present at the government’s first cabinet meeting this morning. Head of Communications Simon Gordon said: “This latest ministerial appointment shows some consistency as Grant Shapps has had the shadow housing brief for a number of years. “Of course, we very much look forward to working with him on the housing challenges before the sector, but it is disappointing that he will not be attending Cabinet. “We will continue to press the government on its pre-election commitment to repeal the damaging changes to the planning system with regards to shared housing, which were rushed through at the end of the last parliament.” The UK Green Building Council today welcomed the appointment of Grant Shapps MP as Housing Minister. Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “I welcome Grant Shapps’ appointment to what is one of the most important jobs in government. Housing has a huge impact on our quality of life, and is central to job creation and to creating a low carbon economy. Given this importance we would like to see this role elevated to attending Cabinet, as it was previously. “The last government set out world-leading commitments for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 and all new non-domestic buildings from 2019, and the industry has risen to this challenge. Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats endorsed the zero carbon policies in opposition, and it is essential that we now see consistency from the new government. Industry needs this certainty to continue to invest and innovate in order to deliver these targets. “Grant has previously stressed the importance of finalising the definition of a zero carbon home, which he is right to do. With the 2016 Task Force and the Zero Carbon Hub working so effectively with both government and industry, we have the right mechanisms in place to do this efficiently and effectively.” patrick.clift@estatesgazette.com