The communities secretary Sajid Javid has called for a million new homes to be built by 2020.

Mr Javid told the Conservative Party conference that while everyone agreed on the need for new homes, too many opposed them in their own community.

He went on to say that the UK couldn't afford to build so few homes, even though there are valid reasons for stopping developments, in terns of size and taste. Javid also announced the largest stake backed housing programme since the 70's.

He also addressed the activists in Birmingham and said that there had been massive progress since 2010 however there is still a long way to go, the simple fact being that too many people were priced out of their the housing market and there was little chance of them owning a home. He said of the 170, 000 homes built in England last year that it simply wasn't enough to keep up with the demand.

The Next Generation

Javid has called on developers to "release their stanglehold" over land and to stop building up so called land backs, to tackle the obstacles to new schemes.

He also attacked 'nimbyism' (not in my backyard) and said that communities need to reflect on the UK's national priorities and not just their own.

He said that "Everyone agrees we need more homes, but too many object to them being next to us,".

"We have got to change that attitude. Of course there are sometimes some valid reasons for opposing some local planning applications - if they are in the wrong place, if there is not enough infrastructure or if they are just plain ugly, but all of us we have a duty to think of the long-term consequences of every decision we make. We have a responsibility to build more houses, a responsibility not just to our constituents but to the next generation."

He also unvelied unprecendented plans to "open up the market" with the government would borrow £2 billion to support the "Accelerated Construction " scheme, which will aim to get houses built on "brownfield" land, he said the £2 billion would encourage new developmets to build up to 15,000 new homes by 2021.

There will also be a £3 billion Home Building Fund to provide loans to then stimulate projects, which he said "would build more than 25,000 homes by 2020, with a long- term goal to build more than 200,000."

The Growing Backlog

To tackle the growing backlog of developments which have received planning permission but haven't started yet, Local Government Associations have said "more attention needs to be paid".

Lord Porter, chair of the Local Government Association said "Councils are approving nine in 10 planning applications yet our recent analysis also shows there are hundreds of thousands of homes with planning permission which are still waiting to be built, Councils need more powers to encourage developers to build homes more quickly."

The Green Party have said that the plans have not tacked the "underlying causes" of the housing crisis, with the sales of councils homes and tax breaks for buy- to- let investors. However the liberal democrats dismissed the announcements as a "drop in the ocean".

Leader of the party Tim Farron has said "If the government wants to solve our country's housing crisis they will have to do much, much more than the level of investment announced today,""Experts say we need to be building 300,000 homes a year- double what we currently build. There is a huge task ahead and this announcement is a drop in the ocean."

(Quotes taken from BBC news)

Author: Lauren Angell, Event Manager, CPT Events

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