Sunak says his party will deliver on promises to level up, by investing in local areas to boost growth and reinvigorate high streets and town centres. Starmer says his party, as part of a five year, parliamentary term growth strategy will reform the planning system. In reality, will either mend the broken planning system, and … Continue reading Tory v. Labour vows

Some useful light was thrown on Conservative and Labour housing supply policies during a debate last Thursday in Westminster Hall. Labour’s shadow housing minister said there are not enough sites on brownfield registers to deliver the volume of homes that the country needs every year, let alone that are viable. Matthew Pennycock MP added “Even … Continue reading Makes no sense

It seems the Treasury too is not convinced levelling up budgets are good value. Their scepticism is valid. What is levelling up? Money to smarten up town centres in slow growth locations, or seed corn to make slow growth locations into fast growth locations? The two are fundamentally different. Levelling up literally means what it … Continue reading No money

Another housing and planning minister, Lucy Fraser has left her job. The frequency of the ministerial changes is worrying. Is it because new homes do not matter, or is it because the PM gives low or perhaps no priority to mending the broken planning system? After decades of central government policy failure finding individuals who … Continue reading Minister leaves

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee new decision to examine the government’s pre Xmas deal with 50+ Conservative backbench rebels opposed to housing targets is reassuring. Clive Betts, who chairs the committee says he wants to hear a range of views on the government’s proposed policies and will take evidence from March onwards. … Continue reading MPs query U-turn

Writing the earlier blog today ‘Young people are being abandoned’ prompted me to read the CPRE November 2021 report Recycling our land: state of brownfield 2021 as it is the justification of the government’s policy to rely on brownfield land. My reaction was shock. A housing policy where the foundations are built on sand, will … Continue reading Solution: brownfield land?

According to the authors of a new Centre for Policy Studies report The Case for Housebuilding the intention of the government, first announced by the Prime Minister in November, to adopt a ‘brownfield first’ housing policy will “signal a major retreat on housebuilding (which) suggest that younger people are being abandoned and that home ownership … Continue reading ‘Younger people are being abandoned’

Yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph (15 January 2023) contains an in-depth analysis by Szu Ping Chan of the threats and opportunities housing policy failure presents to the political parties. His analysis of the splits in the market between renters, mortgage-holders and outright owners, particularly their differing reactions to changes in mortgage interest rates (depending upon their, or … Continue reading Housing market conflicts.

The Housing Secretary Michael Give has endorsed a proposal from Policy Exchange (A School of Place) to set up a new professional training centre to boost architectural and urban design skills. Remembering the 40,000+ responses to Boris Johnson’s two white papers in 2020 it could be well subscribed. He reflects the deep, widespread disappointment with … Continue reading Is poor design the problem?

Yesterday the 1922 (Conservative) BEIS Backbench Committee published a remarkable recommendation in their report Energy Market Reform: tackling the energy trilemma. It is to pay up to 100% of domestic household energy bills to those most affected by new renewables or fracking projects near them. Three miles is mentioned. Former Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom’s committee, … Continue reading Breakthrough?