The Daily Telegraph reported on 31 May there is a shortage of family homes and a surplus of flats, due to Government planning rules, suggesting that the price of a family house has risen at eight times the rate of a new flat since 2000. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/29/nhouses29.xml

GOVERNMENT PLANNING REGULATIONS ON HOUSING

In 2000, John Prescott introduced new planning rules on housing (so-called ‘PPG3’). This imposed on housing developments a new density requirement of 30-50 dwellings per hectare (12 – 18 dwellings/acre), and the first time in planning rules, classed gardens as brownfield land.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1143941

In November 2007, the Government issued revised guidance – so-called ‘PPS3’. However, gardens are still classed as brownfield land, and councils still must follow density targets of at least 30 dwellings per hectare.

“Previously-developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure” (p.26)

“30 dwellings per hectare (dph) net should be used as a national indicative minimum” (p.17)

DCLG, Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing, November 2006.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1504592

LABOUR RULES DISTORTING THE MARKET

The Government’s planning regulations are forcing the construction of blocks of flats on gardens, without sufficient private green space. Often these new buildings are the wrong size, the wrong shape and in the wrong place, depriving the public of what they actually want.

First time buyers want houses not flats.

A study by Yorkshire Building Society found that three-quarters of first time buyers aged 22-40 said they wanted to buy a house not a flat.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/mortgages/article.html?in_article_id=410571&in_page_id=58

People don’t want to live in high-rise blocks.

A MORI poll, carried out on behalf of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), found that half of those questioned favoured a detached house and 22 per cent a bungalow. Just 2 per cent wanted a low-rise flat and 1 per cent a flat in a high-rise block.

http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=122&field=press&term=All%20press%20releasesvtype=5

Public support gardens and parking.

CABE noted, “The findings reveal a significant gap between the current preferences of homebuyers and the vision of planners... While supply is currently planned around a model of higher density living in a “compact city”, the overwhelming majority of homebuyers still want to live in a suburban dwelling... A crucial factor for homebuyers in choosing a house is the provision of outside space, and of gardens in particular. Over three quarters of the respondents preferred to have a private garden rather than sharing a communal space with their neighbours. Front gardens are also viewed as important, as buffer between private space and the public realm of the street. Only 1 per cent of buyers said they would accept no space between the house and the street and only 20 per cent would accept less than 6 feet.”

Over-supply of flats, under-supply of family homes.

The Government’s density targets are resulting in developers squeezing the greatest number of dwellings into the tiniest of spaces. The increase in the number of small flats as a result of planning restrictions is leading to an over-supply of flats, and an under-supply of family homes. According to property experts, propertyfinder.com, “there is a large oversupply of two bedroom flats, many of which are lying empty and unsold... the lack of availability of larger homes has in turn affected their affordability as excess demand and insufficient supply has increased the gap between the price of a two-bed and a three bed home.”

http://www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=v&t=res&id=1053

Young families are being squeezed out.

Industry experts, SmartNewHomes, have added, ‘Homebuilders have increasingly less choice in the types of properties that they build and are constantly restricted by the Government’s insufficient planning policy... Young families are increasingly looking for more space, opting for the stereotypical three bed semi with a garden and a garage but these types of properties are becoming increasingly scarce... Developers are currently being held back from building the types of properties they know people want and as a result the consumer, and young families in particular, are suffering.’

http://www.smartnewhomes.com/content/Press_Centre/1270/Young_Families_Are_Suffering_From_A_Desperate_Lack_Of_New_Homes.aspx

CONSERVATIVE POLICIES

Conservatives have outlined an action plan to help families and young people get on the housing ladder, whilst protecting the environment. Conservatives have pledged to:

·           Protect gardens, by changing planning rules to give stronger protection to green spaces and maintain the character of local neighbourhoods.

·           Ensure that new homes are made more eco-friendly, and remove Whitehall rules that are stopping new homes being built with sufficient parking and garden space.

·           Give local communities a stronger say on where new homes are built, and abolish unelected regional assemblies.

·           Cancel Whitehall’s ongoing plans for a council tax revaluation, abolish inspectors’ powers of entry, and stop new taxes being levied on home improvements and gardens by Gordon Brown.

·           Help more people get onto the first rung of the housing ladder by extending support for shared ownership schemes and new flexible forms of home ownership.