Little in this week's Budget for the property sector

After the housing-intensive Autumn Statement, there was little in this week’s Budget for the property sector – despite industry pressure. 

Calls for relief on stamp duty charges that would boost movement in the property market were ignored in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Spring Budget. Despite the Government's own admission in last month's Housing White Paper that the property market was "broken", tax thresholds will remain at the levels introduced in 2014. 

The Chancellor did announce a £690 million fund to help local authorities 'tackle urban congestion and get local transport networks moving again'. He reaffirmed transport allocations from the government’s £23 billion National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), which was originally announced in the Autumn Statement. 

Documents published alongside the Chancellor’s speech said that £690 million from the NPIF would be "competitively allocated" to local authorities to address "pinch points on the national road network, improving productivity by making it easier for people and goods to move within and between towns and cities". 

Proposals to pilot a new land value capture mechanism on a major infrastructure project in the capital are included in a memorandum of understanding on further devolution to London, also announced in the Budget statement.