Full-fat planning reform may be off the table, but there are plenty of sensible interventions the Government could make before the next election.
Leading developers across the country, including Landsec, are now working hard against an ambitious science-based carbon reduction target and transitioning to net zero quicker than required. But more can still be done.
MPs must stop hiding from the fact that the political preferences of their voters are in direct conflict with the interests of the next generation.
Perhaps it won’t be until it’s their children and grandchildren who can’t afford anywhere to live that the penny finally drops.
They are an effective way of meeting genuine local need whilst respecting the unique character of our towns and villages.
The fifth part of a ConHome series this week on housing and planning in the wake of the Queen’s Speech.
“We need more homes, in the right places, at the right time, and I don’t really care who builds them or who owns them”, says Ben Everitt.
We need a thriving construction workforce. A shortage of skilled workers has been exacerbated by foreign-born workers returning home.
Re-shoring energy production and re-opening quarries and mines can offer national prosperity, strategic security, and meaningful work.
We should embrace the opportunity Brexit affords to overhaul our approach towards agricultural subsidies, re-wilding, and pesticide control.
How can ministers claim to be ‘levelling up’ the country when they are slashing targets for the North and Midlands in favour of the overcrowded South?
Instead of giving developers free licence to ruin communities, it should give local government the power to force them to build where they already can.
New NHS hospitals do not need to be ugly. It is for the good of patients, hospital staff, and civil society, that they should be attractive buildings.
This ambitious business case is based on our experiences not only of recovering from the last downturn, but on the successes of the last three years.
Making older housing affordable to heat would both bills and our reliance on Russian gas, as well as creating the forward-looking careers that will drive the growth we sorely need.