Tag: housebuilding

ONE MILLION NEW GARDENS

Campaign calls for a new standard for Britain’s new-build homes

The New Build Manifesto launches with a call to make gardens part of the infrastructure of new housing – designed from the outset for people, wildlife and a changing climate

As Britain embarks on one of its biggest periods of housebuilding in a generation, a new national campaign is calling for the gardens around those homes to be given far greater attention.

The New Build Manifesto https://newbuildmanifesto.co.uk/, founded by award-winning garden writer and designer Andrew Jackson, launches on 24 September with a mission to raise the standard of new-build gardens across Britain.

With more than a million new gardens potentially being created during this Parliament, the campaign argues that Britain has a once-in-a-generation opportunity: not simply to build new homes, but to create an entirely new generation of gardens.

Yet many buyers currently receive outdoor spaces that are little more than a starting point – compacted or poor-quality soil, thin turf, close-board fencing, limited planting and little provision for wildlife, shade or increasingly extreme weather.

For homeowners, the result can be years of work and considerable additional expense before the space outside their new home becomes the garden they expected it to be.

The New Build Manifesto wants that to change.

Its central argument is simple: a garden should not be treated as the space left over once a new home has been built. It should be regarded as part of its essential infrastructure.

“We are building new homes at a huge scale, but we urgently need to ask what we are building around them too,” says Andrew Jackson, founder of The New Build Manifesto.

“We have the opportunity to create more than a million new gardens in just a few years. Imagine the impact if those gardens began life with decent soil, better planting, space for nature and the ability to cope with heavier rainfall and hotter summers.

“A new garden shouldn’t be an expensive problem handed to the homeowner with the keys. Done properly, it can be an asset from day one – for the people who live there, for wildlife and for the neighbourhood around it.”

MORE THAN A LAWN AND A FENCE

There are around 25.8 million gardens across Great Britain, according to the Royal Horticultural Society. Collectively, they form an enormous network of green space, providing habitat for wildlife while helping to absorb rainfall, moderate temperatures and make towns and cities greener and more liveable.

The creation of more than a million new gardens therefore represents an environmental opportunity at a scale that is easy to overlook.

The New Build Manifesto is calling for the quality of gardens and outdoor spaces to be considered alongside the quality of the homes themselves.

It wants the conversation about new housing to include practical questions about the ground beneath our gardens, how water moves through developments, the trees and plants we establish, how wildlife can move between plots, and whether gardens being created today will remain comfortable and resilient as the climate changes.

The ambition is not to prescribe what every garden should look like. It is to ensure homeowners are given the foundations from which a good garden can grow.

FROM BLANK PLOT TO THRIVING GARDEN

Jackson knows the experience first-hand. When he moved into a new-build home, his own garden began as many do: a relatively blank plot surrounded by fencing.

Over the following years, he transformed it into a mature, wildlife-rich garden. That experience eventually prompted a much bigger question: why are so many new homeowners expected to begin their gardens almost entirely from scratch?

The New Build Manifesto grew from that question.

It combines a national campaign for better new-build gardens with practical support for the people already living with them – helping homeowners understand their soil, improve drainage, choose resilient plants, create habitats for wildlife and allow young gardens to develop character and maturity over time.

The message is deliberately optimistic: the blank plots being created around new homes are not simply a problem to solve. Collectively, they could become one of Britain’s biggest opportunities to create new green space.

A CAMPAIGN FOR HOMEOWNERS AND INDUSTRY

The New Build Manifesto is bringing together homeowners, housebuilders, developers, garden designers, horticultural businesses, environmental organisations and policymakers around a shared ambition for better new-build gardens.

Rather than seeking to create identical gardens, the campaign wants to establish some basic principles for what homeowners should reasonably expect: good ground, sensible water management, opportunities for planting and trees, connectivity for wildlife, and gardens capable of adapting to a changing climate.

It will also provide homeowners with practical information and inspiration to help them transform the gardens they already have.

Andrew Jackson adds: “This isn’t about demanding elaborate landscaped gardens with every new house. It’s about getting the fundamentals right.

“We are going to build these homes anyway, and the land around them is going to become millions of gardens. We can either regard that space as an afterthought, or recognise what an extraordinary opportunity it represents.

“Britain is a nation of gardeners. The next generation of British gardens is being created right now.”

From 24 September 2026, homeowners, organisations and industry professionals will be invited to take the New Build Manifesto pledge and support the campaign for a better standard of garden alongside every new home.

UK Government ‘unleashes’ next generation of construction workers to build 1.5m homes

  • Up to 60,000 more engineers, brickies, sparkies, and chippies to be trained by 2029, as Chancellor outlines how the Government will train more workers to tackle skills shortages and inspire the next generation into the construction sector.
  • New training will help deliver 1.5 million homes which will transform communities and drive growth through the Plan for Change.
  • Reforms will get young people into well paid, high skilled, jobs in the construction sector by funding additional placements, establishing Technical Excellence Colleges, launching new foundation apprenticeships, and expanding Skills Bootcamps.
  • This injection of over £600 million over the next four years will also encourage experienced builders to help train and inspire the next generation.

Ahead of the Spring Statement on Wednesday {26 March) the Chancellor has announced £600 million worth of investment to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers.

This will deliver well paid jobs across the country in the construction sector and help build 1.5 million homes to transform communities by the end of this Parliament. 

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We are determined to get Britain building again, that’s why we are taking on the blockers to build 1.5 million new homes and rebuild our roads, rail and energy infrastructure.

“But none of this is possible without the engineers, brickies, sparkies, and chippies to actually get the work done, which we are facing a massive shortage of. We’ve overhauled the planning system that is holding this country back, now we are gripping the lack of skilled construction workers, delivering on our Plan for Change to boost jobs and growth for working people.”

The sector is facing significant shortages, the latest Office for National Statistics figures show that there are over 35,000 job vacancies and employers report that over half of vacancies can’t be filled due to a lack of required skills – the highest rate of any sector. Demand is expected to increase further to deliver the homes and infrastructure that this country needs.

Funding and reforms announced today will pay for more training places, ensure a sustainable flow of skilled construction workers and help businesses invest more in training. It will encourage the men and women who have spent decades working on building sites, to pass on their skills to the next generation of construction workers.

Building the skilled workforce of the future is key to driving economic growth, the central mission of the Government’s Plan for Change. These construction jobs are the type of secure, well paid, in demand jobs that will help put more money in working people’s pockets and fuel growth.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “Skills are crucial to this government’s mission to grow the economy under our Plan for Change, and nowhere is that clearer than in the construction industry.

“We are being held back by the largescale skills shortages in the construction sector which is a major barrier to the delivery of the growth mission.

“These measures will break down barriers to opportunity for thousands of young people, helping them to thrive in – and build – their local communities.”

Today’s announcement will provide £100 million of new investment to fund 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges and £165m of new funding to help colleges deliver more construction courses.

Skills Bootcamps in the construction sector will also be expanded, with £100 million of funding to ensure new entrants, returners, or those looking to upskill within the industry will be able to do so.

All Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) areas will benefit from £20 million to form partnerships between colleges and construction companies, to boost the number of teachers with construction experience in colleges, sharing their vital expertise by training the next generation of workers.

Construction will also be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships backed by an additional £40 million, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and allow them to progress and specialise in advanced apprenticeships, giving them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career.

As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry, on top of fully funding the training costs through the new Growth and Skills Levy.

A further £100 million of Government funding, alongside a £32 million contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) will fund over 40,000 industry placements each year for all Level 2 and Level 3 learners, those studying NVQs, BTECs, T-levels, and advanced apprenticeships.

This will help get learners ‘site-ready’ and address the ‘leaky pipeline’ of learners who don’t progress into the sector. The CITB will also double the size of their New Entrant Support Team (NEST) programme to support SMEs in recruiting, engaging, and retaining apprentices.

To ensure employers are able to work collaboratively to secure the workforce needed to meet future demand, the Government will sponsor a new Construction Skills Mission Board. Co-chaired by Government and by Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair of Mace, the Board will be empowered to develop and deliver a construction skills action plan and provide strategic leadership to the construction sector.

The government’s communications campaigns continue to promote skills and their contribution to opportunity and growth for individuals and employers.

In collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through Job Centre Plus, the DfE campaign highlights the construction industry’s value for growth, celebrating employers who contribute significantly to workforce training, and emphasising the benefits of careers in construction. 

The announcement follows a series of reforms announced during National Apprenticeship Week, including changes to English and maths requirements that will see up to 10,000 more apprentices qualify each year in key sectors, and new shorter apprenticeships. Changes to end point assessments will also mean it is even easier for businesses and providers to support getting people into the workforce.

Last year the Education Secretary announced new Construction Skills Hubs, funded by industry, which will also speed up the training of construction workers crucial to supporting the government’s homebuilding drive.

Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair Mace, Co-Chair of the Construction Skills Mission Board and Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council said: “This is fantastic news and demonstrates that Government is committed to working with the construction industry to deliver 1.5m homes by the end of this Parliament and its ambitious plans for infrastructure delivery.

“It’s a hugely significant funding package, and the establishment of the Construction Skills Mission Board will enable us to collaborate with Government to drive change at pace.

“Understandably, construction firms across the country are looking for certainty of pipeline before they commit to investing in new jobs and skills – but this investment by the Chancellor will be critical in giving them the confidence they need. There is now no excuse – industry must embrace the Government’s growth mission and match their ambition.”

Tim Balcon, CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted with the support the Government is giving the construction sector with increased investment.

“This package will provide vital support, where it is needed most – it will cut straight to the heart of the construction industry being able to address the challenge of building 1.5 new homes for people that desperately need them. 

“As an industry, we now need to grasp this opportunity and play our part in delivering it. I genuinely believe this is a once-in-a-generation chance to us to recruit and train our workforce – equipping more people with the skills they urgently need now and in the future.”