I sometimes wonder if the first thing the members of the coalition do when they get up in the morning is head for the bathroom cabinet to reach for their stupid pills!
The idea that relaxing the planning laws (for a limited period only) to allow people to build bigger extensions will encourage people to get the builders in - is complete madness.
The reason people aren’t having extensions built at the moment are two fold. Firstly because they are unsure of what the future might hold, and second the cost!
If the government wants to get the builders back at it, the thing to do is to make extensions and alterations subject to zero % VAT the same as new builds (for a limited period).
Making an extension bigger only makes it more costly. The result of this hair brain scheme, will be to cause more anxiety for people worried that their neighbours will encase the back garden in roughly thrown up breeze block shacks, in order to beat a deadline. The pikeys, cowboys, and Poles will have a field day.
Take the VAT off Mr Clegg, and give everyone a fare crack at the whip.
That will get the builders of this country back to work.
06 September 2012 16.38
