黑洞社区

The shadow housing secretary has vowed to overhaul the UK鈥檚 housebuilding model and end the 鈥榗owardice鈥� that has led to a shift from 鈥渂ricks to benefit鈥�.

Lisa Nandy, addressing the Chartered Institute of Housing鈥檚 annual conference in Manchester this morning, accused the Conservative of presiding over a system 鈥渄efined by cowardice, that has failed, for 13 years, to support the foundations of a decent, secure life鈥�.

Describing her view of the current system, she said: 鈥淧oliticians who are so afraid of the taboo around the greenbelt and in fear of backbench revolts they would rather sit it out and watch housebuilding plummet to its lowest level in a generation with a 拢17bn hit to the economy.

鈥淲ho lack the will or imagination to take on a system rigged against first time buyers seeking a home, in favour of cash-rich speculators.

鈥淎nd a land market that inflates prices, incentivises speculation over productive investment and allows money to bleed out of the system.鈥�

Nandy said a Labour government would rethink the planning system and tackle the taboo of green belt development, saying it would release 鈥減oor-quality ex-industrial land and dilapidated, neglected shrubland鈥� that is classed as green belt to build more housing.

She reiterated Labour鈥檚 plan to reverse Michael Gove鈥檚 , including reintroducing local housing targets.

She said: 鈥淲e鈥檒l replace the current chaos with a plan across England.

鈥淥ur government will require every area to have a plan for that place. A local growth plan which includes housing delivery, will reverse many of the changes to the NPPF made in December last year and will reintroduce local housing targets because the decision to abandon them was the very definition of political cowardice, weakness in the face of backbench hostility.鈥�

She said Labour would reform compulsory purchase orders, removing 鈥榟ope value鈥� 鈥� which she said has allowed 鈥渢o sit on land in expectation of large, unearned profits while housing need goes unmet鈥�.

Nandy also pledged to create local development corporations, accountable to communities 鈥渞eplacing a reactive and overly adversarial approach to new housebuilding with a partnership, where communities, state and business work hand in hand鈥�.

She said Labour supports the Right to Buy, under which council tenants can buy their home with a discount but is against the loss of social housing stock. She repeated a pledge to extend home ownership through a new state-backed mortgage insurance scheme.

Nandy also pledged to boost social house building and said Labour would not tolerate council housing being a 鈥渄irty word.鈥�

She said: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 believe that there is any way to grow the economy without building significant numbers of houses in this country. And we don鈥檛 believe that you can build significant numbers of houses in this country without substantial programme of social house building but we carry on.鈥�