New Home Owners And Snagging Forum

Advice on buying a brand new home => House Builders => Redrow Homes => Topic started by: New Home Expert on October 04, 2014, 07:38:43 am

Title: "Build cul de sacs" Says Redrow CEO Steve Morgan
Post by: New Home Expert on October 04, 2014, 07:38:43 am
There is an old saying: "it is better to say nothing and let people think you are a fool, than speak and remove all doubt"

Steve Morgan, founder and CEO  housebuilder Redrow, attacked high-density urbanism in yesterday's Building Design saying  "Build cul de sacs because that's how people want to live".

How does he know this?  Who is Morgan to advise what layouts should or should not be built in our towns and cities?  I for one, am getting a bit tired of Morgan's various tirades; his favourite being against a planning system of regulations that keep builders like his company in check for the common good.

Surely if Morgan wants to build what people want to live in, he can start by designing and building homes with features that people actually want. In a YouGov public poll in 2010, on behalf of the RIBA found that only one in four home buyers would consider buying a home built within the last ten years, mainly because rooms were too small.   

Housing audits carried out by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in 2005 and 2007 rated 29% of new housing as 'poor', while a further 53% was just 'average'.

So what is wrong with UK new homes?  Listed below are some of the reported reasons why 75% of buyers avoid new homes:

In short, new homes are not being built for the needs of modern families.

Nothing about cul-de-sacs in that lot Mr Morgan! 
Can we take it that you have acted on the findings of the 2010 survey to ensure that all Redrow house types and developments are giving people what they say they want?   Plenty of storage - Not overlooked - Good sound insulation - large gardens - large rooms with large windows?