The Chancellor George Osborne delivered a bullish Budget speech to the House of Commons this afternoon, which centred on stronger growth forecasts and lower Government spending projections. Yet Mr Osborne was quick to caution that the improved economic climate does not provide occasion for Government largesse. Rather, the fiscal belt-tightening is set to continue, and the Budget will be one that ‘builds a responsible recovery’. The Chancellor concluded his speech by claiming 'this is a budget for the makers, the doers and the savers and I commend it to the house'.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, stated that “this year’s Budget shows how housebuilding is central to our long-term economic plan”, and the Chancellor commented that housebuilding is up 23 per cent, ‘but that is not enough’. The measures on housebuilding were:

* An already-announced garden city at Ebbsfleet in Kent, which will deliver 15,000 new homes, as well as a new prospectus on the future of garden cities (although nothing was mentioned on the rumoured Whitehall report that outlines further garden city sites)

* Commitment to the regeneration of Brent Cross and Barking Riverside

* £150 million for self-build (a sign of Alex Morton’s influence – the Downing Street planning and housing policy adviser)

* Finance of £500 million will be made available to small housebuilders

* The Help to Buy equity loan scheme will be extended until 2020, with a commitment to 120,000 new homes being built as part of the scheme

* Funding for the regeneration of the worst-conditioned housing estates (this was first announced in the Chancellor’s 2013 Autumn Statement)

* A request to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee to be vigilant against a potential bubble in the property market

* A commitment to more city deals, like the one recently agreed with Cambridge

As with all Budgets, the reaction and detail will follow in the coming days.