"If we do not want our countryside to be built over then we must change conditions so that it is cheaper and easier to make use of the existing properties we have in rural Britain. Cutting the VAT on labour and materials would have benefits for our countryside and the built environment. The current regime of 17.5 percent VAT rate acts a brake on the regeneration and re-use of vacant or under used buildings. Recycling our heritage by putting buildings back into beneficial use is an essential party of improving our quality of life."
Simon Hart, Chief Executive Countryside Alliance
