Building the houses we need in Britain's cities
Author: Hannah BrownDate: 28/10/2009
Publication: Liberal Democrat Voice
In our cities, some of the most visible effects of the credit crunch are the housebuilding projects and plans that have ground to a halt. The regeneration of York Northwest that is struggling to be financed, and the East Pilgrim Street project in Newcastle that would have replaced empty office blocks with homes and shops, are just two examples in some key Liberal Democrat cities.
But the problem isn't just a recession problem - the housing boom of the last decade was in part a result of not enough houses have been built in some of our most successful cities, even in the ‘good years'. Housing affordability in Cambridge is worse than in London. And now it's getting critical - some predict that there will be 1 million fewer homes than we need next year. This is a real, bricks and mortar problem holding back our cities.
How do we get out of this rut, and encourage more houses to be built, creating more construction jobs, and getting the right houses in the right places?
With leadership of many of the UK's major cities, Lib Dems have been searching for new solutions. Sarah Teather has called for more Government-backed starter home loans, and has criticised the shortfall in family-sized social housing. And the cities themselves have tried to do what they can - buying up houses in Newcastle, for instance.
But this isn't enough. Why isn't housing higher up the agenda as we debate how to get out of recession and on the road to a stronger recovery? Why isn't it a more important issue in the run-up to the election?
Our Cities Manifesto calls on the next Government to give cities control over their own housing supply. The Government's top-down, target-driven approach hasn't worked. But as well as more control, cities need to be given the right incentives - so Cambridge City will want to build the houses that it's economy so desperately needs. A few years ago Tim Leunig devised a radical reform that would encourage Councils to build more houses, by allowing them to keep more of the value to reinvest in local communities. This needs to be given proper consideration.
Giving cities the incentives to deliver the right houses, in the right places, at the right prices, would be the strongest way of doing giving Councils more control over their local economies. Based on the Lib Dem's strong track record of running some of the UK's most successful cities, Sarah Teather and all the Lib Dem city leaders must push this up the agenda in the next few months.
A version of this blog first appeared on Liberal Democrat Voice.
