Government announces housing shake up

politics.co.uk, 18th July, 2005

The government has announced a shake-up of the planning system aimed at helping first time buyers.

The proposals are designed to tackle the shortage of housing, which has pushed up house prices making it difficult for first time buyers.

Mr Prescott said local planning authorities would have to work closer together under the new proposals and be more responsive to demands for local housing.

"For decades, this country has built too few homes, with the result that too many people on moderate incomes can't afford a home," Mr Prescott said. "The measures announced today will help us plan more homes in the right places, whilst protecting the environment and providing jobs and public services."

But the Conservatives suggested the plans could threaten greenbelt land, saying Labour was leaving a "concrete scar" across England.

The proposals are in response to the Barker report on housing published in 2004, which focused on the problems associated with the supply of land for housing and proposed regional organisations to plan housing provision.

Government figures show just 37 per cent of new households can afford to buy homes, compared with 46 per cent in the late 1980s, partly because of demographic changes.

Housing minister Yvette Cooper said: "Currently the planning system fails to take proper account of pressures in the housing market". There are "huge economic and social consequences" connected with the planning system which was why it was important to reform it, she said

The proposals include ideas to change the planning system to take account of market information, to review regional plans in line with market changes and to concentrate on building on so-called brownfield sites.

The government is also launching a new consultation on greenbelt land designed to strengthen planning controls.

But the Tories said the government still planned to build too many new houses on greenbelt land, and that the new plans included ideas to force councils to release greenfield sites for development.

Shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman said greenbelt protection had become meaningless under John Prescott's watch. Ms Spelman said the Tories wanted more greenbelts but Labour was moving in the opposite direction "leaving a concrete scar across the face of rural England".

The Tories also published a dossier suggesting that 2,500 acres of greenbelt land had been built over each year by the Labour government.

The Liberal Democrats insisted the government should not wipe out local accountability under the new proposals.

Lib Dem housing spokesperson Sarah Teather said it was also "paramount" to release public sector land to reach the target for building new homes.

Yvette Cooper announced the publication of the consultation paper Planning for Housing Provision to parliament today in response to the recommendations of Barker review of housing supply.