Cameron promises: 'I'll help you build your extension'

By Ian Dunt

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will help homeowners build extensions to their property as part of an effort to boost the building industry, they will announce today.

In a rare joint initiative, the two men will pledge to sweep away rules and bureaucracy stopping families and businesses altering their property.

"This starts with getting the planners off our backs, getting behind the businesses that have the ambition to expand, and meeting the aspirations of families that want to buy or improve a home," the coalition's leaders said in a pre-released statement.

The government is also announcing help for 16,500 first-time buyers with an extension of the successful FirstBuy scheme, which provides an equity loan of up to 20% of the property value which can be used as a deposit.

Meanwhile, changes to ‘permitted development rights’ will mean that for a period of time businesses and homeowners can double the amount of work to be done without a need for council approval.

New conservatory, loft extension or garage conversions are expected to fall under the new rules.

The plans are part of the coalition’s post-reshuffle relaunch, with Cameron intent on proving the government can change the fortune of the British economy after two-and-a-half years of increasingly dire growth projections.

In an attempt to derail the announcement before it even began, Ed Miliband used PMQs yesterday to highlight the failure of other heavily hyped coalition initiatives.

The previous housing initiative failed to affect the creation of new homes, with a 24% reduction in building on last year, the Labour leader argued.