In his first major act as housing and planning minister, Brandon Lewis has promised 165,000 new houses and apartments will be constructed in the three years from 2015 in a programme which will change the way homes are built in Britain.
A fifth of the homes will be built with what Lewis calls advanced housing manufacture - pre-fabricated elements made in factories before being assembled on site. This technique is widely used elsewhere in Europe but only rarely in Britain, says Lewis.
A total of 214 affordable housing providers - mostly housing associations - have been earmarked to receive government funding for the new homes, a third of which will be in London. There will also be a £23 billion private financing programme.
Housebuilding is an essential part of this government's long-term economic plan. That's why we have designed an ambitious new scheme to build affordable homes at the fastest rate for 20 years, which will support 165,000 jobs in construction and sustain thousands of small businesses says Lewis.
Comments
It's about time action was taken. Too little, too late if you ask me.
This has been a long time coming. Glad to see they're finally making some sort of plans but 165,000 jobs for 165,000 projects seems to be as Property Hound said, "pulled out of thin air". We need a more secure way of keeping up with the housing requirement in this country because that still won't be enough at this rate.
165,000 homes and 165,000 jobs Seems like this magic number might just have been plucked out of thin air by Lewis and his pals.
and the 165,000 jobs will all be given to British workers ! ()
No, not the greenbelt!There must be another way round it. I don't particularly want to see massive tower blocks being a blot on our world-famous countryside. Innovative ideas and sensible planning are needed, not just a build wherever we can mentality.
Building on the greenbelt anyone
It's desperately needed. They should have been doing this four years ago, when they first got into government, not now. They've left it and left it, reluctant to spend what is necessary because of Osborne's austerity measures. Beds in sheds, 9 or ten people being packed into unsuitable accommodation that isn't anywhere near big enough for them all, these are all because of the shortage of stock. This is a positive move from Brandon Lewis, who seems well-suited to this role given his experience as a private landlord. I hope he sticks to his word and sees it through.
We have heard all this before but it sounds like a sticking plaster on a gaping wound. The real problem standing in the way of building is not lack of builders or even lack of finance, it's lack of land to build on in places where people want to live. The reason is not scarcity but mad planning rules implemented by blinkered planners. It isn't viable to end the housing shortage with grandiose schemes, it needs to be tackled building plot by building plot.