Theresa May must give councils power to force-buy green field land in Budget blitzkrieg to solve Britain’s housing crisis, former minister declares
Senior Tory Nick Boles insists the striking new compulsory purchases are needed to build enough new homes on town edges – not just brownfield sites - where people want to live
THERESA May must give councils the power to force-buy green field land as part of a Budget blitzkrieg to solve Britain’s housing crisis, a former minister today declares today.
Senior Tory Nick Boles insists the striking new compulsory purchase orders are needed to build enough new homes on town edges where people want to live.
And as part of his major new blueprint - being studied by No10 now - former planning minister Mr Boles also proposes three more dramatic moves:
- If developers don’t build on land within strict time limits, they should be forced to sell it on to others at “book value”
- The PM should ensure the government builds 500,000 homes itself over the next 10 years by creating a ‘Grenfell Housing Commission’, named in honour of the West London tower fire's victims
- Any house owner in a town should be allowed to add one or two more storeys on to it without planning permission, up to a maximum of four storeys, to increase density.
Unveiling his plan in The Sun today, prominent Tory thinker Mr Boles dubbed all politicians’ failure to deliver on the dream of home ownership as “the greatest scandal of the past two decades”.
A Tory election manifesto pledge to give councils compulsory purchase powers for brownfield sites doesn’t go far enough, Mr Boles also argues.
Instead, councils should be able to set the prices they pay for the commandeered land at ‘current use value’ rather than inflated by building permission.
That way, they can reinvest the profit they make on developments’ eventual sale into building roads and schools to service them.
Mr Boles admits his bold plan – in his new book, Square Deal - will spark uproar among NIMBY Tories in rural areas.
But he insists that is a fight that now must be waged if Mrs May is to fulfil the huge current need of 300,000 new homes a year, and the Chancellor should begin it by making housing the centre piece of his Budget next week.
Grantham MP Mr Boles, who was one of ex-Tory leader David Cameron’s most important thinkers, said: “Through cowardice and complacency, we have stood by while the ordinary dream of owning a home has turned into a nightmare.
“Successive governments have tinkered with reform but shied away from the policies needed to break the logjam.
“Why? Because they have all been too worried about the reactions of those with vested interests in the existing system: landowners, major housebuilders and those lucky enough to own their own home already.”
He adds: “It will take years before sanity returns to Britain’s housing market, so there’s no time to lose.
“Let’s get a move on, Chancellor.”
Mr Boles’s plan for a Grenfell Housing Commission also closely matches Communities Secretary Sajid Javid’s bid to borrow £50bn a year more for the government to build homes itself.
Mrs May backs Mr Javid, but Mr Hammond is unhappy with it – leading to bitter rows between No10 and No11.
To generate the huge sum, a new bond should be issued by the Treasury and sold as “a patriotic investment”.
All ministries should also hand over any land they own not being used to the commission to build on, Mr Boles argues.
Let's get a move on, Chancellor! Former minister lays out his housing blueprint for Britain
By Nick Boles, Tory MP and former Planning Minister
BRITAIN needs to build a lot more houses. The Sun has been saying it for years. It’s the only way Sun readers will get the chance to own their own home like their parents did.
The Chancellor should make his Budget on November 22 a budget for housing. He should make some big announcements.
He should launch a new Grenfell Housing Commission to build 50,000 new affordable homes a year. That would be the best memorial to the people who died in the appalling Grenfell Tower fire.
He should raise up to £50billion with a special Grenfell Housing Bond that offers savers a tax-free return.
The money should go pay for new homes on the huge amount of land that government and local councils already own. The new homes must be genuinely affordable – and give young people a real chance of ownership.
The Chancellor should reform the land market to cap the profits of wealthy landowners.
Councils should be given the power to buy land for new housing at a reasonable price so they can spend the money they save on roads, drains, schools and GP surgeries.
He should tell big housebuilders to stop dragging their feet and build on the sites where they have planning permission.
If they don’t build out a site on schedule, they should be forced to offer the plots to other builders who will.
He should tell people who own a house in an urban or suburban area that he wants to make it easy for them to add a granny flat or extra rooms for the kids.
From now on they should be able to add one or two stories to their home without going through a full planning application. All they should have to do is stick to a design that fits with the local area.
It will take years before sanity returns to Britain’s housing market. So there’s no time to lose.
Let’s get a move on, Chancellor.
