Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has fleshed out Labour’s plans to “get Britain building”, including mandatory housing targets for local councils.
In a statement to the House of Commons earlier this afternoon, Rayner, who also serves as housing secretary in the new government, said that Labour had a “radical plan” for growth and to breathe new life into towns and cities across the country.
Under the government’s plans, housing targets will rise to over 370,000 per year from 300,000, with local targets becoming mandatory. Changes will also be made to the method used to calculate how many new homes are needed in each area, ensuring they are proportionate to existing communities and factoring in places where house prices are out of step with local income.
While new homes should first be built on brownfield sites, Rayner said a “more strategic system for green belt release” would be put in place, with local councils reviewing their green belt land to meet housing targets. Low-quality “grey belt” land in such areas would be prioritised for such development.
Any housing developments in green belt areas will require half of new homes to be assigned for affordable housing, with demands to build other infrastructure, such as schools, GP surgeries and transport links.
READ MORE: What is the Labour Growth Group and who are the 54 MPs who have joined?
Rayner also announced a consultation on changes to the Right to Buy scheme and that more details about Labour’s plans for the next generation of New Towns will be unveiled “shortly”.
While she acknowledged that the measures “won’t be without controversy”, Rayner stressed that action to address the housing crisis was “urgent”.
She said: “This is only the first step – we plan to do so much more. These are the right reforms for the decade of renewal the country so desperately needs, and we will not be deterred by those who seek to stand in the way of our country’s future.”
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