Labour’s plans to build thousands of new homes

[dnac]

Anyone else feeling dismayed at the plans announced today to build huge numbers of new homes on the “grey” belt? Why not just concrete over the UK? It’s not just the homes, it’s the infrastructure that will need to go with it that will almost certainly involve cutting down trees, spoiling natural habitats and losing more green space. Plus the boundary between grey and geeen belt will blur over time. Why can’t we put more effort into refurbishing existing properties (or just rebuilding on the same sites?). So much for refreshing, positive ideas from the new administration. Just more of the same ill thought out sound bites that make me despair for the future of the planet.

The problem with brown field sites is potential contamination which is extremely expensive to clean up. It may also reduced value of the sale of new housing.

Building more housing is fine as long as there is infrastructure built to support and features such as existing hedgerows and in-field trees are kept.

New areas of biodiversity should be created such as ponds and woodlands should also be incorporated as well as having solar panels on every new house built. Density should allow sufficient garden space and a minimum room size.
No astroturf in covenants and no paving over of front lawns.

@Inlaw

"No matter how many houses they build there, they aren’t going to be in your price range. "

Basic economics will tell you that if you increase the supply of something enough then prices will fall. In the case of housing it would fall to the level of the construction cost plus financing costs plus a reasonable return for the builder (say 15%), anything less and they won't build them.

A lot of people can buy a house , have a deposit and are ready to go but as soon as a house comes in the market it's sold . Usually bought by a cash buyer or investor

Same with renting in lots of places now. By the time you can phone the agent after it appears on Rightmove, all the viewing slots have been taken. You can keep leaving your details with agents, but they never contact you because it's "easier" for them just to list it on Rightmove and fill the viewing slots within a few minutes from people phoning in. They only use their "lists" for properties that no one wants for whatever reason. My son spent six months putting his name on rental agent's lists all over his new work town and surrounding areas, not a single one got in touch with him. He checked Rightmove daily, and set up Rightmove new listing alerts, but even when he got the email alert and phoned straight away, all the viewing slots had gone! He finally got a viewing slot for his first and only viewing - it wasn't what he really wanted, but he had no choice - he "offered" 10% over the asking rental price and "offered" to pay a year upfront - he got it! The agent said that someone else had offered the same 10% but "only" offered to pay six months upfront! The massive demand and lack of supply for rental properties in some areas is insane!

Do we know what proportion is on unused office and industrial land?

We have an unused small office next to our estate. It's been a decade of faffing about what housing to put there (it'll fit 4 family homes perfectly with space for a car and small garden, they have been told this) and nothing is happening The planning system is glacial even with easy wins.

Honestly there is not lots of brownfield land. Lots of sites in my city, some of which had been empty for decades, have been built on. And we need green space in between houses in the city too. I am not talking about parks, but every single bit of green land is built on the city will become a horrible place to live.

We need to build more houses. I agree houses with small gardens, decent room size, no astro turf allowed and solar panels. Some people do not want it because they want their green views, their green spaces to walk and to continue living in small villages. But like the rest of us they will just have to go a bit further for countryside walks. Others do not want houses built because it will reduce house prices. It will, but it needs to happen. Housing should not be kept artificially scarce.

@Badbadbunny

A lot of houses are now HMO , student accommodation it air bnb . That's why it is so hard to get housing. Most people want a garden and parking and those properties are snapped up quickly

We need homes (the population has gone up) and we also need decent urban planning that does not require a car to get everywhere. On top of that, Right to Buy needs to be reformed so we have got a decent amount of social housing and a look at the rules surrounding investment homes, second homes and AirBnB.

We’ve been tearing down tower blocks but why not invest in facilities to make them more desirable. Play schemes, youth hubs, community outreach, nice green spaces and more police presence to stop anti-social behaviour.
@Autumnflakes

In Chelsea a flat of 800 sq.ft in a tower block in World’s End housing estate is for sale for £540,000. A few hundred yards across the road in Park Walk there’s a flat in a Victorian building of 700 sq ft for sale at £1.2 million.
I think your suggestions are good - though there’s plenty of green space in the World’s End housing estate - but have these things not been tried before?
I could be wrong but I think many people in UK don’t like tower blocks much.

No I’m not dismayed. We need millions of new homes and we haven’t built what we need for decades. Of course they have to be well built and not on flood plains etc but much green belt land isn’t of particular value. Why a golf course over much needed local housing?

Ironically, the flats my son could rent (way out of town) had gardens and parking, but that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be in the town centre to avoid commuting and avoid the hassle of looking after a garden. Unfortunately, he couldn't get one, so now has a garden to look after, and the bus service is so poor, he's had to buy a car, so now actually needs the parking (which he wouldn't have needed if he'd been able to get a town centre flat). All the while, lots of empty/derelict shops and lots of empty/derelict flats above High Street shops that are open!

Stats from the census, 2011 vs 2021:

Population in 2011 56.1m
Deaths in between 5.3m
Births in between 6.8m
Net increase 2011 to 2021 1.5m
Net migration 2.0m
Population in 2021 is therefore 59.6m

How can anyone say that immigration isn't a problem? These are of course official numbers, what about all the illegal arrivals?

Awful business.

I agree, but even the land used by golf clubs is tiny and insignificant compared with the huge amounts of fields etc that could be built upon. Not sure why a golf club land is more of a target than a random farmer's field?

The stigma of what happened when blocks were built in 60s and 70s is going to be hard to shake off. They were not the answers that people hoped for.

Do you own your own home OP?

I agree with this!

golf clubs are a major use of green belt land in urban areas. Much green belt is not fields either.

Urban planning such that cars are not required sounds great.
Even so (IME) a significant proportion of the population will do anything to avoid having to exert any effort by walking.
They will drive the shortest of distances (using a 1ton vehicle to transport a 70 kilo human load is extremely inefficient!) if they can't drive they will get a battery powered bicycle or scooter rather than use the energy stored in their own body 🤷🏼‍♀️

In my road there 4 large victorian houses,standing empty and have done so for over 4years.
They are big houses, 4 bedroomed and are being allowed to deliberately fall apart.
Maybe we should tighten up on this practice, these houses could accommodate families, I dont understand why the owners don't use or sell them.

They could do no worse than Premier Inn, Travelodge and the like - who take old office blocks and convert them into accommodation. Seen a few examples of that across the country - but with a bit more planning and preparation and they could add in kitchens and a living room - job done!!😎

We need the right type of homes, homes for a population that is growing older, nicely designed bungalows, then homes will be released for families, we need accommodation for singles, flats, 1/2 bedroom apartments, 3 bed houses with gardens and parking.
Most of all, we need mass social housing. Affordable needs redefining to reality. If a couple working f/t at NLW can't afford it, it ain't Affordable. The only homeless people should be those actively shunning settled lives. Support is needed for the army of homeless with SEN/MH/addiction issues to help them keep a roof over their heads.
Homelessness in a constituency is a shame that every MP should feel as personal/ professional person. They should be held to account for it.

My mum and dad would definitely benefit from a well designed bungalow releasing their 3 bed with garden.
Unfortunately they can neither afford a bungalow (our area has plenty but they are dear) nor are they physically fit enough to move.

I also don't understand why we don't create mini villages based on design like holiday villages. I stayed at a Lodge on a site recently. It would house a couple/ small family easily. Park homes are popular with pensioners, and I'm not sure why they aren't provided as an alternative.

Golf clubs use loads of land.

A field could produce food. So a field is more important than a predominantly middle class male sport.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/28/building-houses-britain-golf-courses-makes-sense