HOUSE-BUILDING IN BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25327, 29 October 1947, Page 7

HOUSE-BUILDING IN BRITAIN

SHORTAGE OF SOFTWOOD TIMBER (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

(Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, October 28. Discussing the Government’s decision op housing, Mr John Edwards, Parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Health, said there were about 260,000 permanent houses now being erected, and a further 9Q.0Q0 for which contracts had been let, but on which work had not yet begun. All these 250,000 houses would be completed, and it was the Government’s intention that they should be finished as soon as possible. The great obstacle in the way of speeding up housing construction was the shortage of softwood timber, most of which had to be bought from the dollar countries. Materials were available for most of the houses now planned for 1948, but unless Britain’s dollar position improved it .seemed likely that the Government would be forced to restrict the 1949 construction programme to 140,000 houses. This was only a provisional estimate, and the position would be reviewed again early next summer.. The Minister of Education (Mr George Tomlinson) has issued a statement saying that the recent reference by the Minister of Economic Affairs (Sir Stafford Cripps) to the school building programme had been misunderstood- it was not intended to stop all school building aft er*June next year, but it was proposed to review the position in the light of the conditions then prevailing.