Shadow housing secretary and deputy Labour leader details new policy at UKREiiF event in Leeds
Story updated at 12.06pm
Angela Rayner has today announced a 40% affordable housing target on developments delivered through the party鈥檚 New Towns policy.
The shadow housing secretary and deputy Labour leader set out more detail about the policy at the UK鈥檚 Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) event in Leeds.
Rayner announced developments must meet a 鈥楴ew Towns Code鈥� which will include a target to ensure 40% of homes are for affordable tenures.
This will also include 鈥渞obust design codes鈥� to ensure developments fit in with nearby housing, along with requirements to ensure an 鈥渋nfrastructure first鈥� approach, green spaces and 鈥渇it-for-the-future layouts鈥� with good transport links to towns and city centres.
Rayner said: 鈥溾�淒evelopers who deliver on their obligations to build high quality, well-designed and sustainable affordable housing, with green spaces and transport links and schools and GP surgeries nearby, will experience a new dawn under Labour. But those who have wriggled out of their responsibilities for too long will be robustly held to account.
鈥淟abour鈥檚 towns of the future will be built on the foundations of our past. The post-war period taught us that when the government plays a strategic role in housebuilding, we can turbo-charge growth to the benefit of working people across Britain. That is what Labour鈥檚 plans will achieve.鈥�
The new towns policy is part of the party鈥檚 pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over five years, which would match the current government鈥檚 300,000 homes a year target, which it has not come close to meeting.
>>See also: Starmer pledges to 鈥榬eform housing鈥� in address to CIH
>> Home Truths podcast: In conversation with Toby Lloyd, former No 10 adviser
In a speech to the Chartered Institute of Housing in February, Labour leader Kier Starmer pledged to reform housing as part of a vision for national renewal.
In addition to the 1.5 million homes pledge, the party is pledging to extend Awaab鈥檚 law 鈥� which requires landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days 鈥� to the private sector, along with measures to help people get on the housing ladder, including giving first time buyers priority in local areas and a new government-backed mortgage guarantee scheme. Starmer also confirmed Labour would create a new planning passport for urban brownfield development.
Election focus
As thoughts turn towards the next general election, the UK is facing some serious problems.
Low growth, flatlining productivity, question marks over net zero funding and capability, skills shortages and a worsening housing crisis all amount to a daunting in-tray for the next government.
This year鈥檚 general election therefore has very high stakes for the built environment and the economy as a whole.
For this reason, 黑洞社区 is launching its most in-depth election coverage yet, helping the industry to understand the issues in play and helping to amplify construction鈥檚 voice so that the government hears it loud and clear.
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