Gideon Amos OBE MP, a Liberal Democrats’ housing spokesperson, has said small builders should be able to put up a “couple of houses” without planning permission during a podcast with the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB).
He has also backed the FMB’s call to licence the industry and stop rogue builders, a statement added.
Gideon, who is the MP for Tiverton and Wellington, made the pledge in an interview with the FMB’s Build Up From the Basement podcast.
The MP said he was exploring plans to expand permitted development rights so small builders could construct a small number of houses without going through the planning system at all. This would work in the same way that homeowners can build an extension without permission.
Gideon said: “Why not be able to build a couple of houses without paying permission, provided you stick within the same kind of rules.
“I’d be really interested in exploring how we can free up a whole sector from planning control. They can still meet the same standards. If there’s an infrastructure levy to pay, they could pay the levy.”
Gideon is also the former CEO of the Town and Country Planning Association. He has confirmed that he is actively looking at whether the Liberal Democrats will adopt FMB’s flagship policy of licensing builders, to protect consumers from rogue operators.
He added: “We all come across people who’ve been let down by cowboy builders — those who close down a company on Friday and open a new one on Monday. I’m actively looking at whether the Liberal Democrats could incorporate that as our policy.”
FMB’s research showed that rogue builders have cost consumers £14.3bn over the past five years. It also revealed that the economy is losing out on £11.2bn a year as one in five are put off doing domestic building work.
The MP also took aim at the government’s skills system, which revealed that more than £3bn of the apprenticeship levy was handed back to the Treasury unused between 2020 and 2023. It also found that 200,000 EU workers have left UK construction since 2019.
Gideon said: “If that doesn’t help to underline what a disaster Brexit has been for our country, I don’t know what does.”
FMB research showed that fewer than half of parents would recommend the construction industry to their child. Gideon said the sector needs to do more to show off the scale of the opportunity, pointing to projects such as Hinkley Point and the Agratas battery factory near his constituency.
He also called for councils to be given more support to build social housing and unlock stalled sites. The MP warned that simply issuing more planning permissions won’t fix the housing crisis while 13,000 approved homes in Somerset alone remain unbuilt.
Brian Berry, FMB’s chief executive, added: “It’s very encouraging that the Liberal Democrats are taking the problem of rogue builders seriously. It was brilliant to have Gideon on the podcast as well as seeing him at our recent licencing event in Parliament.
“A staggering £14.3bn has been lost to cowboy builders over the last five years and behind every statistic are homeowners left with homes that are half-finished and families out of pocket with nowhere to turn. Licensing building companies is the single biggest step the government could take to protect consumers and back reputable small builders who are the backbone of the construction sector.”
