Critics say trailed spending review pledge is not enough
The government is set to announce 拢1.8bn in funding to turn brownfield sites in England into housing in Wednesday鈥檚 spending review.
The Treasury said 160,000 鈥済reener鈥� homes could be built on the land, which it said was collectively the size of 2,000 football pitches.
The homes have been billed as part of the government鈥檚 agenda to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
But Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal and General which is a major player in the build-to-rent market, told the BBC鈥檚 Today programme more of the homes needed to be 鈥渁ffordable鈥� because poorer people in smaller cities were being left behind.
鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 have to be rich to be green,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult for poorer people to get on the green [housing] ladder.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of active listening going on [by government], but we don鈥檛 just want CGI housing - we want real housing built across the UK.鈥�
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also promised 拢9m to build 鈥榩ocket parks鈥� in urban areas across the UK.
The parks, which would be around the size of a tennis court, aim to improve access to green spaces in cities.
At least 2.5 million people across the UK currently live more than a 10-minute walk from their closest green space.
Sunak is also expected to announce 拢65m to digitise the town planning system, with the first phase of the upgrade being rolled out to up to 175 local authorities in England.
No comments yet