Conservative populism

The Tory view is a populist middle-England view where everyone aspires to own a home. For many this is not an option and they simply aspire to have a home with security of tenure with affordable rent and good housing management.

“Nimbyism” will always extol the virtues of maximising density within current settlement boundaries as it avoids new development within range of their back garden. It’s a selfish motivation disguised as pseudo-environmental concern.

Affordable rented property is desperately needed to tackle the estimated 400,000 hidden homeless, a figure that includes those who are currently deemed as “low priority” for assistance.

As a former housing manager I’ve seen the serious problems that occur when social housing is packed in at high density without consideration for the needs of the occupants. The Conservative view seems to be that they should be grateful for whatever they’re given.

In the South-east, even with the downturn in market values, a home can cost 10 times the average salary.

Many local authorities struggle to find buyers for shared-ownership properties and have to settle for candidates who really are not a priority in terms of housing need but they have the available income to cover the mortgage.

The government should make far more of planning gain and introduce schemes which separate land value from building value to increase affordability. Community Land Trusts are a vehicle which fulfils this purpose.

Developers will always complain that they cannot make sites stack up and that section 106 is not the way to meet demand for housing. Their agenda is motivated by profit margins, not by social conscience.

If every piece of land simply goes to the highest bidder, and can be developed as the owner sees fit, this country will be covered in four- and five-bed executive homes, despite the fact that the demographic of the country is changing with a greater need for one- and two-bed homes to meet demand.

Richard Clarke, Comment via the Housing Today website