New home sprinkler law could spark Welsh housing crisis

Fewer new homes in Wales could be built as a consequence of a new Welsh law making fire sprinklers compulsory in all new build homes in Wales, according to the head of housebuilding firm Redrow Homes.

Steve Morgan, chairman and founder of Redrow Homes, believes that the extra costs involved with installing the sprinklers will dissuade some housebuilders from constructing new homes in Wales.

Mr Morgan told BBC Wales that his firm, one of the UK's largest new home developers, estimates the cost of installing a sprinkler in a three-bed house to be approximately £3,500 - a cost which could be passed onto homebuyers as far as the price of a new Welsh home is concerned.

The House Builders Federation, which represents residential property developers, estimated the cost of the sprinkler system at around £5,000 for a three bed house.

However, Ann Jones, AM for the Vale of Clwyd, who has campaigning for the introduction of compulsory sprinklers since 2007, believes that the cost is more likely to be between £1,000 and £3,000.

Although legislation for the obligatory installation of fire sprinklers has been approved, no set date has been announced for the introduction of the new law.

Mr Morgan fears said that the poorer areas - the valleys and the north east - would be worst hit, contributing towards a potential Welsh housing "crisis".

"In areas where house prices are not that high, and I'm talking about areas where we build now, such as in the south Wales valleys, we can't even look at the valleys any more," he said.

Last year a report from Cambridge University, commissioned by the Welsh government, found that more than 280,000 new homes are needed in Wales over the next 20 years, equal to around 14,000 each year, but only 5,500 new homes were built last year, with little signs that this rate will improve much in 2011.