NEW PROPERTY GROUP CALLS FOR ACTION PLAN FROM BANKS
The newly-formed Construction & Property Group is calling on banks in Northern Ireland to engage in urgent discussions with the property sector and government to produce an agreed action plan aimed at injecting life into the local economy.
The group, which continues to recruit members from across the North, is to hold its biggest meeting yet in Cookstown on Wednesday August 20 and will be urging immediate involvement from Northern Ireland’s main lenders in its bid to protect the thousands of jobs at risk from the marked downturn in the construction and property sector.
Construction & Property Group spokesperson Brendan Cunnane said the organisation already had over 70 members from across Northern Ireland and that new members were signing up every day.
According to Mr Cunnane:
“The Executive is now beginning to engage with the problem and at a local level banks are showing a willingness to work with the constriction sector. But what is really needed is a clear action plan that is plain for everyone to see and which has the full support of the banks as well as government.
Over the past three weeks another 500 jobs have gone in the sector and many believe there is worse to come. This is not just affecting builders and developers. Suppliers are now making staff redundant as are solicitors, architects and estate agents.
Urgent action is needed to prevent total market failure”.
The Construction and Property Group is calling for
• A commitment from all the major financial institutions that they will not take any steps which would further destabilise the market;
• Local financial institutions to reintroduce liquidity into the market by ensuring that affordable mortgages are available, particularly to first time buyers;
• The reintroduction, and adequate funding, of co-ownership by the Executive;
• An urgent review of the comprehensive spending review by the Executive to improve availability of social housing and shared equity schemes
The Construction & Property Group, which holds its second major gathering at the Glenaven Hotel in Cookstown on Wednesday 20th August, was created following a series of public meetings during July, bringing together developers, builders, contractors, suppliers and those involved in the professional services affected by the crisis in the residential construction sector.
The group is now looking to increase its membership and is calling on those involved in the construction industry across Northern Ireland to join the group.