Housing, Planning policy, Communities, Labour, Construction industry, Politics Business | The Guardian
Kate Macintosh says the new government should legislate to prevent speculators profiteering on the uplift of land values, and Paul Brannen says building roof extensions, as in Europe, is one solution. Plus a letter from John DigneyRegarding your article on the greenfield land needed to meet Labour’s promise of 1.5m homes in its first term (Labour’s housing plans will use land twice size of Milton Keynes, expert says, 8 July), it is common knowledge that 70% of the value of the average home is the value of the site. The government should urgently legislate to pre-empt the profiteering of speculators who are no doubt scanning the country in search of agricultural land close to highways or rail networks, in the expectation of making a killing with an uplift in value by as much as 275% through consent for change of use.Labour should emulate the Attlee government, which passed the New Towns Acts in 1946, obliging landowners to sell to the state at existing-use value. The act set up development corporations that oversaw the planning, design and construction of the new towns, with in-house teams of professionals, ensuring jobs and infrastructure for their populations. This will not be achieved by handing sites to volume housebuilders, who will continue to resist providing social homes at any scale as their primary objective is to maximise returns for their shareholders. The quality of their homes has led to a record 33% of buyers reporting more than 15 basic defects this year.Kate MacintoshWinchester Continue reading…
Kate Macintosh says the new government should legislate to prevent speculators profiteering on the uplift of land values, and Paul Brannen says building roof extensions, as in Europe, is one solution. Plus a letter from John Digney
Regarding your article on the greenfield land needed to meet Labour’s promise of 1.5m homes in its first term (Labour’s housing plans will use land twice size of Milton Keynes, expert says, 8 July), it is common knowledge that 70% of the value of the average home is the value of the site. The government should urgently legislate to pre-empt the profiteering of speculators who are no doubt scanning the country in search of agricultural land close to highways or rail networks, in the expectation of making a killing with an uplift in value by as much as 275% through consent for change of use.
Labour should emulate the Attlee government, which passed the New Towns Acts in 1946, obliging landowners to sell to the state at existing-use value. The act set up development corporations that oversaw the planning, design and construction of the new towns, with in-house teams of professionals, ensuring jobs and infrastructure for their populations. This will not be achieved by handing sites to volume housebuilders, who will continue to resist providing social homes at any scale as their primary objective is to maximise returns for their shareholders. The quality of their homes has led to a record 33% of buyers reporting more than 15 basic defects this year.
Kate Macintosh
Winchester
