Doomed? Housing secretary says job ‘on the line’ over housing target
Housing Secretary Steve Reed (pictured) says his job should be ‘on the line’ over the Government‘s 1.5m new homes pledge, but two leading experts have told last night’s BBC Panorama that he is going to fail.
Prof Paul Cheshire, who has advised previous governments on planning policy, told the programme that there was “absolutely no way” it would succeed.
Neil Jefferson of the Home Builders Federation warned the target was “looking increasingly distant”, and that housebuilding is “flatlining” at around 200,000 new homes a year, instead of the 300,000 annually required.
Reed certain
However, when interviewed, Reed insisted he would “absolutely” meet the goal and claimed that the widespread scepticism would make “celebration all the sweeter” when he hit it.
And he added that the Government will force councils to adopt a local plan within 30 months instead of the current average of seven years.
One of the biggest obstacles that was flagged by the programme, though, was the ‘grey belt’. The Government created the concept to make planning easier on low quality green belt land, but has left it to each local authority to decide which sites qualify. Prof Cheshire called this a serious missed opportunity. “They left it to the fuzziness of the planning system and therefore to local lobbying, and it won’t happen.”
Treasury push
To make Reed’s task even harder to achieve, the Treasury is currently planning a 3,000% increase in Landfill Tax on soil removal, which could add up to £50,000 to the cost of building a home.
Government sources told The Times the move was already causing friction in Whitehall. One source said the Housing Department had been “blindsided” by the Treasury’s plans and was trying to get them “killed off”.
You can watch the documentary on the BBC’s iPlayer.
The post Doomed? Housing secretary says job ‘on the line’ over housing target appeared first on The Negotiator.
Author: Gemma
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