2009 Budget

The property industry has largely responded with disappointment to the 2009 Budget announced yesterday by the chancellor Alistair Darling.

Senior figures in the UK property and construction sector condemned the failure of the Government to make the kind of major decisions necessary to stimulate an industry that has been hit hard by the current economic recession.

Francis Salway, chief executive of Land Securities, commented:
"The chancellor made a declaration to be fair and to support long term investment but the government's refusal to reinstate empty rate relief wholly undermines this statement, particularly at a time when occupiers and developers are being equally hit by the downturn."

The Home Builders Federation executive chairman Stewart Baseley said:
"The housing market is absolutely critical to the wider economy, and we have been saying for months now that urgent action to assist it is required. The chancellor does not seem to have drawn the same conclusion and the measures will do little to boost a depressed market."

The chancellor however did provide some respite for the housebuilding industry, announcing a £600 million package for the construction sector to re-start housing projects stalled by the effects of the credit crunch and a further exemption on stamp duty for homes worth up to £175,000 until the end of the year.