ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the government's housing green paper.

The green paper includes plans for the release of public sector land for housing, and for new carbon-neutral ecotowns. 

It also sets out plans for an extra 20,000 social rented homes a year, which will be funded with cash made available through this autumn's comprehensive spending review.

Government Response: DCLG

Housing minister Yvette Cooper said: "We need to build more homes across England.

"The housing shortage means first-time buyers and young families are finding it increasingly hard to get their first step onto the housing ladder unless they have financial help from parents or relatives - and that's just not fair.

"Unless we act now by 2026 first time buyers will find average house prices are ten times their salary. That could lead to real social inequality and injustice.

"Every part of the country needs more affordable homes - in the North and the South, in urban and rural communities.

"We need more homes - but we need better designed, more sustainable homes.

"This is a green Green Paper, responding to the challenges of climate change, with zero carbon homes and new eco towns, and with tough planning rules on building in flood-risk areas."

Party Response: The Conservative Party

Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: "The government’s rhetoric on housing has not been matched by reality.

"The prime minister’s higher taxes have made it harder to get on the housing ladder.

"Home ownership has fallen for the first time since records began.

"First time buyers are at their lowest since 1980 and pay an average of £1,500 in stamp duty – £8,000 in London – where in 1997 the average was nothing.

"We will lend our cross-party support to measures which build sustainable, eco-friendly communities on brownfield sites.

"But to solve the housing crisis, it’s vital to end the ham-fisted nature of top-down Whitehall-imposed targets and instead switch to empowering local communities to build the homes that stand the test of time."

Party Response: Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Paul Holmes said; "The green paper can’t solve the problems created in the last decade by Labour’s cowboy housing policies, because it just repeats them.

"Addressing the housing crisis needs vision and ambition, yet the only thing the government has done is give all its failed ideas from the last decade a fresh lick of paint. 
 
"There is more social housing, but thousands short of the figures Kate Barker said were needed to reduce the 1.6 million households waiting for council housing.

"The government should let all councils get on with providing the social housing their communities need, rather than only allowing a select few.
 
"Young people are being encouraged to borrow even more to buy their first home.

"The country doesn’t need more debt, it needs more homes that are actually affordable and remain affordable in the future. 

"The government should be promoting community land trusts which ensure homes do remain affordable; a first step would be to hand over surplus public sector land to them.
 
"Imposing house building figures on local communities hasn’t worked in the last 10 years and there’s no reason to think it can now.

"Instead the government should be changing the incentives for local communities. If they got more out of developments then they’d be more willing to consider them."

Stakeholder Response: Northgate

To send a comment to Northgate, click here

Joe Bradley, Managing Director of Local Government & Social Housing at Northgate Public Services, said: “We welcome the publication of the Housing Green Paper and its focus on delivering sustainable and affordable housing for people now and in the future.

"There is a pressing need for organisations in all sectors to reduce their carbon footprint. It is therefore essential that existing housing stock is well-managed, well-maintained and energy efficient, and we would like to see the experiences and successes likely to emerge from the eco-towns shared effectively across all housing developments."

Stakeholder Response: The Woodland Trust

To send a comment to The Woodland Trust, click here

Lee Bruce of the Woodland Trust said:"‘Due to the pre-eminence given to economic concerns we are cautious in our welcome of the DCLG’s commitment to the preservation of the green belt; and hope that their wish to develop brownfield land rather than encroaching on irreplaceable natural habitats is a genuine vision shared across all government departments.'

"The decision to begin building eco-towns is an overdue recognition that households contribute a significant percentage of the UK’s total carbon emissions. 

"New housing stock must not only mitigate against climate change it has to be capable of adapting to the increased likelihood of extreme weather.

"It is not alarmist or politically opportunistic to argue that the recent flooding shows fully the dangers of unsustainable planning decisions.

"‘We remain concerned that the ambitious housing targets coupled with the unfortunate recommendations outlined in the sub national review will also put our most precious natural heritage in grave danger.

"A rounded housing strategy capable of balancing all the strands of sustainable development would offer far greater protection to the green belt and the surrounding natural environment.

"We would therefore ask the DCLG to reassess their priorities and give greater attention to the range of social and health benefits that people derive from living near to vibrant and diverse natural landscapes."

Stakeholder Response: Help the Aged

To send a comment to Help the Aged, click here

Joe Oldman, senior policy adviser for Help the Aged, said: "The modest endorsement of Lifetime Homes Standards in the green paper is a missed opportunity to firmly put this principle in the mainstream. 

"Older people are not a marginal or special interest group – we are likely to see a dramatic increase in the number of older households over the next 20 years. 

"With the rigorous introduction of Lifetime Homes Standards, the government could ensure all new housing developments meet people’s needs throughout their lives. 

"The majority of older people live in mainstream housing - basic and cost effective alterations in the design and construction of new housing can make it effective for future generations and therefore ‘age proof’. 

"Homes must be built to allow greater mobility and be easily adaptable to developments in new home technology, such as telecare and telemedicine.

"The government intends to publish an older people’s housing strategy in September.

"This should be an integral part of its legislative programme to improve the delivery of decent affordable housing for older people."

Stakeholder Response: The NHBC

To send a comment to the NHBC, click here

Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC’s chief executive, said: "The green paper presents a positive set of new policies and funding to address vital issues including supply, sustainability, affordability, and planning.

"Building more affordable and greener homes is welcome. The delivery of the government’s new targets must fully take into account consumer protection as well as sustainability.

"Affordability is a key issue and NHBC has been working with the social housing sector to deliver high quality aspirational homes which meet affordability criteria.

"We must now ensure that the house-building industry delivers the volumes needed in areas where people want to live.

"NHBC continues to commit substantial resources to research to help the industry produce sustainable homes which meet the needs of consumers.

"We have also done a great deal of work to inform the industry on the varying resilience of different types of construction to flooding.

"Consumer protection is paramount and we welcome the government’s resolve not to repeat the mistakes of the 1960s."

Stakeholder Response: The ABI

To send a comment to the ABI, click here

Starling, ABI director of general insurance and health, said: "We need new homes. But they must be built in the right place and to the right design.

"The devastation caused by the recent floods shows the importance of planning for the future.

"We need a fresh approach to house building to take account of the increasing risk of flooding and to ensure sustainable communities.

"New homes should not be built in high-risk areas of the floodplain.

"They must be planned and designed with flooding in mind, with greater use of flood-resilient building materials."

Stakeholder Response: The CPRE

To send a comment to the CPRE, click here

The CPRE said: "Beware of myths that planning stands in the way of delivering the new homes the nation needs.

"Rather than relaxing planning controls, we must strengthen them to ensure that new homes are affordable, well designed and built in sustainable locations, increasing the use of previously developed land and reducing the risk of flooding.

"Contrary to some claims, planning is not an obstacle to building the homes we need.

"As our research shows, there is already an adequate supply of land in the system and, according to the government's own research, enough brownfield land to provide over a million new homes.

"Effective planning is critical if we are to protect the environment while accommodating necessary development.

"It isn’t scaremongering to say that the recent floods demonstrate what could happen if we allow the planning system to ignore environmental factors.

"If new housing is to be environmentally sustainable, the planning system must play a central role.

"Planning is needed to help secure the right kind of housing in the right places, protect floodplains, and guide the development of the new ‘eco-towns’ and infrastructure funding.

"We welcome the housing green paper’s emphasis on:

"The need for much more subsidised affordable housing – there has been a dramatic decline in affordable housing provision from an average of over 100,000 homes a year in the 1970s to less than 30,000 since 2000. We need to boost the level of affordable housing, with a specific target to meet the needs of rural communities;

"The importance of making better use of brownfield land – while we’ve seen an increase in new housing on previously developed land from 56% to 74% in the past 10 years, further progress is needed if we are to build truly sustainable communities well integrated with existing urban areas;

"And the need for improvements in the design of new housing – there must be a step change in the quality of new housing, the vast majority of which is seriously deficient in terms of design and environmental performance, failing to create a sense of place or the conditions in which communities can thrive.

"There is a long way to go before we can say we are providing the kind of housing we need where it is needed.

"We now regret the poorly designed, high rise, single tenure estates of the 50s and 60s.

"We need more not less planning if we are to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and achieve the green paper’s aspirations."

Stakeholder Response: The Royal Academy of Engineering

To send a comment to the Royal Academy of Engineering, click here

The Royal Academy of Engineering said: "While there is a clear demand for an increase in the supply of housing, it is crucially important that environmental considerations are not ignored.

"In particular, water management does not seem to figure highly in the development of Government policy on housing, land use planning and industry. 

"There is a particular problem with the development of new homes in the south east of England. This part of the country is one of the driest.

"At the same time, developments on flood planes leave houses prone to flooding.

"It is vital that the construction of new housing developments, especially in the south east, are linked to the ability to ensure a sustainable and secure water supply.

"We also need to ensure greater coherence in policy in relation to supply and demand from water companies, central and local government and the regulators (including Ofwat, Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency)."

Stakeholder Response: The Construction Products Association

To send a comment to the Construction Products Association , click here

The Construction Products Association said: "We welcome confirmation of the Prime Minister’s commitment to a higher level of house building over a substantial period of time. 

"The problems that arise from insufficient housing supply are all too evident and there is no short term fix, as was illustrated in the Barker report. 

"We are particularly pleased to see a sharp increase in social and affordable housing. 

"This is not just a problem for public sector employees but is also a concern for many private sector employers throughout the country. 

"The Association also welcomes the focus on higher environmental standards for the new housing of the future. 

"Within the construction industry, manufacturers and suppliers are already responding positively to the need for products and solutions to deliver zero carbon homes. 

"Alongside this they continue to develop construction methods and materials which have a low environmental impact. 

"However, the government must ensure that the new housing is supported by the right level of investment in infrastructure.

"Without this investment they will fail the test of true sustainability and will only be storing up problems for the future.

"Whilst overall we welcome the green paper, we are disappointed that it does not address the problems of existing housing. 

"Based on current building and demolition rates around 70 percent of current housing will still be in use in 2050. 

"This existing stock is the most energy and water inefficient, with far too many properties not of a ‘decent’ standard. 

"It is important that the government addresses the standards for existing stock alongside those for new houses. 

"The government must act to incentivise those who purchase older properties to implement improvements identified as beneficial in the new Energy Performance Certificates. 

"The government should also consider whether it is appropriate to continue to charge the full rate of VAT on products that will help householders save energy and water."