Investment in Housing and Property
THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO KATE BARKER'S REVIEW OF HOUSING.
The Government today signalled its commitment to build more homes for future generations by bringing forward an ambitious package of measures to reform the planning system and deliver increased investment in infrastructure to support sustainable housing growth.
The housing boost was set out in the Government's response to Kate Barker's independent review of housing supply, which was commissioned jointly by the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister in April 2003, and which showed that more and more people are locked out of the housing market and unable to find a home to meet their needs.
The Government's response to the Barker Review sets out its ambition over the next decade to increase new housing supply in England to 200,000 net additions per year, compared to around 150,000 now. Achieving this ambition will bridge the gap with current projections of household formation and improve long-term affordability.
The speed at which this increase in new homes can be achieved will be determined by progress in implementing the Government's ambitious proposals, which include:
- reforms to the planning system, with the publication of a new draft Planning Policy Statement for Housing (PPS3) to ensure that local and regional plans are more responsive to housing markets and prepare and release more land to meet future housing requirements.
- the merger of regional housing and planning functions by September 2006, to ensure regions take a strategic approach to integrating housing and infrastructure requirements;
Housing and Planning Minister, Yvette Cooper said:
"For years the nation has failed to build enough homes to meet our housing needs. Our ageing and growing population means that we need more private as well as social housing. However, the level of new homes we are proposing today still falls far below post-war building rates up to the 1980s.
"The evidence is clear - if we fail to increase the number of new homes, then within 20 years, less than a third of thirty-something couples will be able to afford to buy a home of their home or one in three of today's 10 year olds."
"We have provided a clear framework of action to help ensure that future generations have the opportunity to live in a decent home they choose to buy or rent. But Government alone cannot be responsible for providing high quality homes in sustainable communities. The challenge is for all of us - housing developers, local authorities, architects, planners, and local communities - to ensure we deliver a housing legacy to be proud of."
Dec 2005