The Northern Powerhouse was a central theme in George Osborne’s latest Budget, with a strong focus on travel networks and infrastructure.
The Chancellor announced plans to build a tunnel road from Manchester to Sheffield, improve the M62 (Liverpool, Hull, Manchester and Leeds) and A66 and A69 roads, and build the new HS3 rail between Manchester and Leeds.
By comparison announcements for the capital were limited to the Crossrail 2, connecting North London and South London.Ian Wilson, CEO of The Property Franchise Group, said:“The Government has highlighted the benefits of investing public money in new infrastructure, yet ignored the practicalities that come with these decisions. There will be contractors, architects and planners working in these places for the next 20-30 years to provide the infrastructure programmes, the majority of whom will [need to] rent.“Whilst the north of England requires these services in order to compete on a national scale and make it a more appealing place to live, projects such as this are reliant on a buoyant Private Rented Sector to support it, a factor that is undoubtedly overlooked.”Stephen Frost, Franchise Owner at Chelmsford Office, and writer of the Chelmsford Property Blog, said:
“Our local rental market is certain to benefit from these changes. The North has always been quite separate to London and the South and for the government to making these changes we can bridge the divide between North and South and share the country’s wealth more equally.”The Chancellor offered no insight in how he will tackle the housing crisis across the UK, but did take the time to confirm that April’s Stamp Duty levy will go live as planned, though with the added curveball that investors with over 15 properties, who were led to believe that they would be exempt from the 3pc surcharge, will be included in the rate hike.
