Did you know that housebuilding makes an enormous contribution to the UK economy, generating £46 billion of economic activity and supporting well over 700,000 jobs?
Those are big numbers, but the impact of building new homes goes far beyond the national economy, with investment flowing into local communities and supporting jobs, businesses, schools, infrastructure and facilities.
As a regional housebuilder, we see that positive impact first-hand in the communities where we operate in Hull, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
New homes bring investment in local businesses and supply chains, create jobs and apprenticeships, and generate funding for schools, new roads and other infrastructure, and community facilities.
And, of course, they provide the high-quality homes people need.
Now, new research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has highlighted the huge contribution housebuilding makes to the UK economy and the many benefits it brings to communities the length and breadth of the country.
The power of building new homes
The HBF’s new The Power to Belong campaign puts some eye-catching figures around the economic and social value generated by new housing and the role housebuilders play in supporting communities.
In 2024/25 nationally, housebuilding delivered:
- More than £46 billion of economic activity
- Well over 700,000 jobs
- Significant investment in affordable housing
- Hundreds of millions of pounds for schools and other essential infrastructure
- Investment in open spaces, leisure facilities and other amenities
- Thousands of graduate and apprenticeship opportunities, helping to develop the workforce of the future
Impressive figures, but what do they mean closer to home?
A £4bn boost for Yorkshire and the Humber
Across Yorkshire and the Humber, 18,100 new homes were built in 2024/25 and the benefits generated by that activity are considerable.
According to the HBF, housebuilding in the region supported £4 billion of economic activity and 64,000 jobs, including 800 graduate and apprenticeship positions.
It also generated:
- £814 million for affordable housing
- £513 million of spending in local shops
- £113 million for infrastructure, including £51 million for new and improved schools – enough to fund 2,900 local school places
- £16 million for open spaces and leisure facilities – enough to build 86 community games areas and 142 football pitches
It all underlines something we’ve always believed at Beal – that building new homes is about much more than the homes themselves.
It means jobs, investment and opportunities for local businesses, as well as helping to provide the infrastructure and facilities growing communities need.
Playing our part in Goole’s regeneration
You can see that very clearly at The Greenways in Goole, the largest single development in our history and a major investment in the future of the East Yorkshire town.
The development will ultimately create an aspirational new community of 800 high-quality homes on a 73-acre site, as part of the remarkable regeneration story unfolding in Goole.
Our £210m investment is delivering the quality housing needed to complement major investment and the creation of hundreds of skilled jobs in the town.
So The Greenways is about much more than providing new homes. It’s helping to support Goole’s continuing transformation and creating a high-quality new community as the town grows as a place to live, work and invest.
More than 30 years of building a community in Kingswood
Our involvement in Kingswood in Hull is another example of the long-term impact housebuilding can have on a community.
We’ve been part of the development of Kingswood from its earliest days, helping it grow over more than three decades into a popular and thriving residential neighbourhood.
Over the years, successive Beal developments have provided homes for thousands of people and families, as the wider Kingswood community has grown to include an extensive range of shops, schools, leisure facilities and other amenities.
And our association with Kingswood continues today.
Our latest development, Kings Crescent, marks our return to Kingswood Parks for another chapter in the story, following successful developments including King’s Fold, King’s Vale and King’s Chase.
It’s a relationship stretching back more than 30 years and demonstrates the lasting connection we have with many of the communities where we build.
Creating places where people belong
As a local, family-owned housebuilder, making a difference in the communities where we operate is even more important.
“Housebuilding is about providing the high-quality new homes people and families need, but, as these figures show, the benefits go much wider than that”, says our Chief Executive, Richard Beal.
“For us, it’s also about giving people a home that really feels like theirs. Beal buyers have a huge amount of freedom and flexibility to personalise their new home, with an extensive range of options to choose from to suit their individual tastes and the way they want to live.
“Every development also brings investment into the local area, supports jobs and local businesses and contributes to the infrastructure and facilities communities need as they grow.
“That’s particularly important to us as a regional, family-owned housebuilder. We live and work here and many of the communities where we build are places we’ve had a connection with for decades.
“You can see that in Goole, where The Greenways is part of a really exciting period of investment and regeneration for the town, and in Kingswood, where we’ve been building homes for more than 30 years.
“The HBF’s Power to Belong campaign is a reminder of just how much housebuilding contributes, both nationally and closer to home. We’re proud to be part of an industry that makes such a difference across the country and in our own region.”