Housebuilders hit back over “cartel” accusation

Housebuilders have responded to housing secretary Michael Gove’s accusation that they are operating a cartel, calling the comments “entirely unfounded”.

In a letter to Gove, HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley expressed, “considerable concern” about the comments made during an event for the Conservative Environmental Network.

At the event, Gove was reported as saying: “I’m not a poster boy [for developers] … I’m not particularly popular with developers at the moment because of some of the steps we’ve taken in respect of building safety and some of the other changes we want to make as well. There are 101 changes we want to make, that we’ve essentially got a cartel of volume housebuilders who operate in a particular way, and there are all sorts of unhappy consequences.”

In the response, Baseley said: “The implications of this remark are significant and entirely unfounded, as are some of the reported comments as to how the industry is approaching the environmental agenda.”

Baseley was referring to Gove reportedly telling the event: “All of their incentives (home builders) are essentially to swallow up virgin greenfields, rather than to think hard about regeneration. All of their incentives are to leave it to someone else to …