The Government continues to deliver on its flagship commitment to construct 1.5 million new homes within this Parliament, having set out to bolster resources, streamline decision-making and promote local growth with an expansive package of housing interventions that will empower local areas and accelerate delivery of high-quality homes.
In our daily interactions with residents, we see where 14 years of mismanagement have left the housing situation: rising temporary accommodation numbers; families in poor-quality housing; and rising rents driving cost-of-living pressures.
“We see where 14 years of mismanagement have left our housing situation”
This Government has started the vital work of change, with the recent unveiling of plans for: the next generation of New Towns, which received more than 100 proposals; the New Homes Accelerator, unblocking challenging developments to free up 20,000 homes, with a further 700,000 within scope; and an £800 million boost to the Affordable Homes Programme.
Growth is the Government’s number one priority, and ensuring people have access to affordable, high-quality housing is at the heart of it.
With the Planning and Infrastructure Bill providing further impetus, I welcome the Government’s acknowledgment of local government’s central role, with the extra £100 million to bolster local planning resources accompanying new powers in the English Devolution White Paper.
This is a long-term endeavour, but we are already seeing the benefits of this Government’s ambition.