0
0
Since before the General Election, Labour’s plan to build 1.5 million homes in England by the end of this Parliament has remained a central aim for their government, a ‘milestone’ against which they are asking the electorate to judge them. As Starmer’s grip on government weakens, however, the construction of his overly optimistic solution to the UK’s housing crisis has revealed the policy’s uncertain foundations, proving to be a millstone around the neck of an increasingly strained government.
On paper, their policy to encourage housing developers to build more houses sounds simple. Reform the country’s outdated and bureaucratic planning rules, set mandatory housing targets for councils to sign off on, and adopt a common-sense approach to the greenbelt, requiring councils to review greenbelt boundaries to meet housing targets.
Labour’s reliance on planning reform rests on a fundamental misconception: that granting permission leads quickly to homes being built. In reality, planning approval is only the first stage in a long and uncertain process, with developments often taking years to complete. Local authorities, already lacking resources and stripped of planning staff, lack the capacity to process applications at the speed Labour now demands. Even streamlined rules remain vulnerable to legal challenge, particularly where green belt land is involved, while the absence of guaranteed funding for supporting infrastructure further slows delivery. Reforming planning may increase permissions on paper, but it does little to ensure homes are built at the pace required to meet Labour’s headline target.
Therefore, despite the open invitation for housing developers to “build, baby, build”, the Home Builders Federation has expressed scepticism about the Government’s policy, asking them to boost affordability for first-time buyers and cut taxes, otherwise, the housing target will be missed. To meet the target 370,000 homes need to be built – that is 821 a day, 5679 a week and 30,833 a month, and with the number of new homes falling from 207,000 to 139,000 after the General Election, it is clear that the Government are painfully falling behind its target.
This highlights the Achilles heel in Labour’s housing policy; despite removing regulatory barriers, the Government is ultimately at the mercy of private developers acting for their own commercial interests. With no obligation to build at pace once permission is granted, developers can control build-out rates to protect prices, leaving the Government’s key target hostage to market incentives, while also sidelining desperately needed social housing.
A more pragmatic approach to the housing crisis has been outlined by the housing charity, Shelter, in their ‘Brick by Brick’ report. This report suggests a more feasible target for the Government to build 90,000 affordable homes each year over the next 10 years. This will be done through more than simply commanding local authorities to approve planning applications. Shelter suggests a more dramatic restriction of fiscal rules, allowing for a greater allocation of public funds for housing, in addition to aiding councils to purchase land without planning permission.
It may be of a beneficial for Labour, both electorally and fiscally, to shift to a more feasible housing strategy, such as lowering targets while also offering more in terms of structural reform, rooting out issues embedded in the UK’s planning system. In the meantime, however, Labour will continue to drag this consistently failing target well into the next election.
Edited by Gemma Gradwell
Photo by 22nd April 2020 // Unsplash
Average Rating