It is entirely legitimate to blame the Conservative Government for the housing shortage. It is blindingly obvious that an increase in supply is needed and that a radical liberalisation of the planning system is the means to achieve this. Belatedly, the Labour Party has come round to making this case – having earlier denounced Government plans to ease restrictions as a “Developer’s Charter.” But Labour will struggle to be taken seriously after their support for the absurd “nutrient neutrality” rules which are blocking the construction of 100,000 new homes.
Then there is the small matter that if Labour really wants to allow more new homes to be built, they don’t need to wait to be in power nationally. They could get on with it where they are already in power locally. Labour has objected to the Government being more lenient on councils who block development. This is because the requirement to meet targets has been softened – and those targets are the main safeguard against planning restrictions stopping anything being built at all.
But enlightened councils that want to see development can do so. They could seek to win popular support for it by ensuring it is beautiful and of the right type and in the right place.
It is not just about the planning system – though that rightly dominates the debate. Councils also block progress by hoarding surplus assets; municipal landbanking on a scandalous scale. The latest figures show that there are 33,393 council homes that have sat empty for over six months. Camden, Sir Keir Starmer’s local authority, has 591. Ealing has 796. Southwark has 1,512. Newcastle 773. Leeds 966. Sheffield 976. Birmingham 1,015.
Now consider that there are 14,090 “households” in bed and breakfast accommodation. That is an arrangement that combines being miserable for the families concerned and expensive for the Council Taxpayer. In Camden, it’s 140. Birmingham has 861. Ealing has 333. Leeds 80. Sheffield 16. Southwark 140. Do any of the Labour councillors running these authorities ever pause to reflect on these comparisons? Or do they just blame the wicked Tories?
Leaving council homes empty might be the most obvious failing. If they can’t afford the repairs, they should sell some and use the proceeds to repair the rest. However, these numbers are relatively minor compared with the potential new housing if surplus Council land and buildings were released for development. The proceeds from sales could reduce debt and thus interest payments. The deal could include a proportion of social housing to reduce the numbers in temporary accommodation.
I make no apology for returning to the example of empty Council garages. So often a row of ugly empty garages, covered in graffiti, could be demolished and replaced with attractive cottages. Depending on the position, they might have to be bungalows but often could be two or more storeys. Very often Council garages that are being used, are let for storage to residents who don’t live on the estate. Those would be better converted to housing too. But to give an indication, I offer a list below of empty Council-owned garages, gathered via Freedom of Information requests. Camden Council haven’t replied yet – though when I asked previously the response was that it owned 901 empty garages.
A tough mechanism is needed to force sales of surplus Council assets. Easing the housing shortage is not only a political and economic imperative but a moral one. Replacing empty municipal garages with family homes would not be enough. But it would be a useful start.
Birmingham: 3,658 empty out of 7,260
Greenwich: 2,251 empty out of 3,588
Hull: 2,073 empty out of 4,146
Milton Keynes: 1,931 empty out of 2,954
Southwark: 1,850 empty out of 7,065
Basildon: 1,807 empty out of 5,035
Dacorum: 1,705 empty out of 7,093.
Leeds: 1,704 empty out of 4,891.
Sheffield: 1,670 empty out of 3,355
Nottingham: 1,584 empty out of 3,143
Solihull: 1,560 empty out of 4,636
Islington: 1,523 empty out of 3,209
Welwyn Hatfield: 1,342 empty out of 5,551
St Albans: 1,138 empty out of 2,306
Hounslow: 1,382 empty out of 2,020
Enfield: 1,307 empty out of 1,930
Fife: 1,103 empty out of 6,458
Falkirk: 1,092 empty out of 2,628
Barking and Dagenham: 1,047 empty out of 2,143
North Lanarkshire: 1,038 empty out of 3,644
Sandwell: 1,038 empty out of 2,700
Central Bedfordshire: 1,016 empty out of 1,780.
Dudley: 985 empty out of 2,696
Norwich: 913 empty out of 3,357.
Rotherham: 913 empty out of 3,149
Wrexham: 891 empty out of 2,019
Slough: 864 empty out of 1,401.
Warwick: 817 empty out of 1,898.
Crawley: 790 empty out of 5,023
Wigan: 782 empty out of 1,546
Epping Forest: 725 empty out of 2,102
Flintshire: 709 empty out of 1,274
New Forest: 691 empty out of 1,755
Waltham Forest: 682 empty out of 1,204
Oxford: 676 empty out of 1,925
West Lothian: 651 empty out of 2,500
Nuneaton and Bedworth: 638 empty out of 1,349
Leicester: 628 empty out of 1,129.
Cornwall: 589 empty out of 2,343
High Peak: 581 empty out of 1,032
Brentwood: 566 empty out of 1,144
South Tyneside: 566 empty out of 2,494
Clackmannanshire: 557 empty out of 1,217
Haringey: 554 empty out of 1,462
Southampton: 548 empty out of 1,202
Canterbury: 546 empty out of 1,215.
East Ayrshire: 534 empty out of 1,220
Stoke: 508 empty out of 1,019
Ashford: 505 empty out of 1,527.
Wandsworth: 498 empty out of 2,968.
Aberdeenshire: 470 empty out of 2,251
Hillingdon: 486 empty out of 2,907
Thurrock: 462 empty out of 2,475
Ealing: 455 empty out of 1,207
Lewes: 447 empty out of 704.
Havering: 445 empty out of 985
Westminster: 444 empty out of 1,247.
Harrow: 434 empty out of 687.
Cannock Chase: 411 empty out of 787
Kettering: 394 empty out of 912
Kingston: 393 empty out of 863
Dover: 390 empty out of 870
Stroud: 390 empty out of 474
Guildford: 385 empty out of 599
East Devon: 379 empty out of 727
Lewisham: 359 empty out of 1,814
Mid Devon: 353 empty out of 1,067
West Lancashire: 353 empty out of 1,530
Vale of Glamorgan: 350 empty out of 771.
South Ayrshire: 347 empty out of 684.
Eastbourne: 330 empty out of 636.
Charnwood: 324 empty out of 818
South Kesteven: 322 empty out of 868.
Ashfield: 307 empty out of 735.
Lincoln: 301 empty out of 1,049
Highland: 273 empty out of 1,402.
Runnymede: 262 empty out of 1,214
Caerphilly: 260 empty out of 899.
Barnsley: 259 empty out of 716.
Bolsover: 236 empty out of 337
Tandridge: 252 empty out of 647
Hammersmith and Fulham: 248 empty out of 1,126
Luton: 244 empty out of 1,695
North Tyneside: 229 empty out of 1.633
Wiltshire: 227 empty out of 1,223
Exeter: 209 empty out of 906.
Stirling: 205 empty out of 722.
Lambeth: 203 empty out of 2,126
Portsmouth: 198 empty out of 2,333
Castle Point: 181 empty out of 272
Dundee: 178 empty out of 477.
Pembrokeshire: 178 empty out of 579.
Wokingham: 177 empty out of 504
Cheltenham: 166 out of 666.
Gravesham: 164 empty out of 437
Moray: 164 empty out of 758.
Denbighshire: 152 empty out of 605
Reading: 142 out of 1,000
Chesterfield: 143 empty out of 1,104.
Winchester: 138 empty out of 1,625.
East Renfrewshire: 120 out of 150.
Kensington and Chelsea: 107 empty out of 451.
Thanet: 102 empty out of 290.
Powys: 62 empty out of 1,719
Chorley: 61 empty out of 132