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 is being given up on”.
The paper goes on to claim that myths are reducing political support for new houses, one being simply that Britain does not have housing supply problem and another that additional supply will do little to reduce the price of housing. An interesting statistic is that the report shows there were 5.3 new homes (built) per 1000 people between 1951 and 1961 compared to around 2.6 per 1000 between 2011 and 2021.
The report is forthright, stating that “Claims that we can meet our housing need from brownfield alone rest on a series of catastrophically implausible assumptions”. Strong words indeed.
Of equal importance is the public support from people who know the full story. Sajid Javid and Simon Clarke, both former housing secretaries and also Brandon Lewis and Kit Malthouse, both former housing and planning ministers have all backed the report. Simon Clarke says “This is a hugely important and timely paper which explodes many of the comforting myths around housebuilding – most notably that there is any realistic possibility of our building the homes we need on brownfield sites alone.”
No government is going to admit to abandoning the younger generations housing hopes. On the contrary there will be rebuttals at every stage. But it is an important milestone report, well summed up by one of the authors Elizabeth Dunkley who simply said “Building more homes is the clearest way to boost economic growth and rebuild our economy………The case for housebuilding is simple – without it Britain will be a less productive, less equal, less fair and less happy country”.
A general election is due this year or next. Conflict between local fear of change and national policy growth needs will be acute within the new housing sector. Close examination of the rival election manifestos and how the parties will address differences in the years ahead will matter.
Ian Campbell
29 January 2023
