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The operating environment for housebuilders is currently as challenging as it鈥檚 ever been and will prompt UK housing output to drop around 40% in the year ahead, according to the founder of Essex-based builder Weston Homes.

Bob Weston, who , to supply both Weston and the wider industry, said the conditions were caused by a combination of the market and 鈥渢he most anti-housebuilding government we鈥檝e ever had鈥�.

Weston鈥檚 comments come after the UK鈥檚 largest housebuilder Barratt last week said its output was likely to fall up to 23% in the next year, and follows similar criticisms of the government by the likes of former Redrow boss Steve Morgan and Churchill chief executive Spencer McCarthy.

Bob Weston said: 鈥淗ousing output across the UK, I think for the next 12 months will fall 40%. That鈥檚 my thought process. We will fight our competitors to get as big a part of the market as possible. But national output is going to fall.

鈥淭he market is more challenging now than it鈥檚 ever been because of the shock wave of the interest rates continuing to rise. Most people were told that 4% would have been it, maybe four and a quarter, now people are being told about 6%. And that is spooking people. This is extremely challenging, there鈥檚 no way of ducking out of it.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got the most anti-housebuilding government we鈥檝e ever had. They鈥檙e chasing the nimby vote.

>> See also 

>> See also 

鈥淲e have five major schemes that all should have had work starting over a year ago and are all stuck in planning. And they鈥檙e not stuck in planning because of the local planning 鈥� it鈥檚 DLUHC [Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities]. Whether it鈥檚 Highways Agency, nutrient neutrality, Historic England 鈥� it鈥檚 not the local authorities causing the biggest issues.鈥�

Weston added that 拢240m-turnover Weston Homes had taken the rare step of briefing representatives from Labour and the Liberal Democrats as well as from the governing Conservative Party on the state of affairs in the industry, because of the feeling that the Conservatives had stopped listening to the sector. He said: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not hearing, they don鈥檛 want to hear. They鈥檝e chosen a path. Yes they will make a headline about 300,000 homes a year but that鈥檚 not what鈥檚 happening in reality. Everything鈥檚 dead opposite.鈥�

Weston鈥檚 forecast of a 40% drop in output come after the ONS has already reported a in the first quarter of 2023, while the NHBC has said that  compared to the same period in 2022. The  for the year as a whole but that forecast came prior to the latest sharp rises in interest rates.