At the recent Labour Party conference, the fragrant Angela Rayner berated the Tories for not building enough homes.
Of course, 'Tory Party Builders Ltd' do not build houses, they facilitate private builders to do so, and instruct local councils to follow certain planning regulations in order to fill the demand. Councils do not always want construction, but that is their prerogative. Mostly this works well, but there are always Co's who sit on land portfolios, wating for prices to rise. Whatever colour of government is around, that will always be the case.
I just happened to notice recently that here in Brighton/Hove there is a huge amount of building going on. The photo above shows SIX huge new blocks of flats in just one small area alone. I don't know what more Ms Rayner wants Rishi, or our local council to do; or even what she would do if elected next year. Would she FORCE builders to build?
The thing to remember about house building is that builders will only build where houses/flats are in demand, and where their profits are the greatest.
House building is up this year by around 2%; just over 70% of which are 'affordable homes'. Construction is reasonably well distributed between North and South.
With salaries now rising above the rate of inflation, people will soon start to invest in property again, and hopefully builders will supply that demand.
I just hope they remember that all new housing developments require water, electricity, gas, drains, roads, shops, parking, schools, doctors, and hospitals.
Here in Australia, things like roads, drains, gas and electricity are all supposed to be placed in any development before the houses get built. Phone lines too. Very rarely is there enough parking though and they don't worry about shops and schools because "everyone has a car" and can drive to those places, right?
ReplyDeleteEvery new home should have dedicated parking space for TWO cars. Our streets are like HUGE congested car parks, and most cars have parking tickets.
DeleteHere, our erstwhile government is planning to increase the population from 86000 to 100000. Never mind that the schools, hospital, GPS, dentists etc are already full to overflowing and there is barely parking space for the existing number of cars, vans and motorhomes on the island. More and more of our green fields are disappearing beneath acres of little new build boxes with tiny gardens. England in miniature but more expensive.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet there are politicians who scream for MORE.
DeleteIn Havant the government has targeted us to 7000 new homes! Nothing at all has been said about the infrastructure that will support 7000 additional families. Sewage treatment is already at capacity, and regularly dumping excess untreated into Langstone Harbour, but no provision to enhance that vital service has been mentioned anywhere.
ReplyDeleteTime to ask your council their intentions! There has to be some provision.
DeleteOnce again we hear the cry of "more houses", but never do we hear the real reason - politicians total failure to get a grip on immigration 600,000 in one year - that's half of Birmingham, and no way will any conceivable level of house building (and associated vandalism and destruction of what remains of the countryside and agricultural land) keep up with that level of invasion.
ReplyDeleteAnd certain political elements want unlimited immigration. They are inviting disaster.
DeleteHousebuilders and property developers have benefited by billions of pounds from delays to low-carbon building regulations in the past eight years of Tory rule, while the sector became one of the biggest sources of donations to the Conservative party.
ReplyDeleteThose who understand business will usually back the Conservatives. Meanwhile the Unions bankroll the Socialists. That's how things are!
DeletePudding a quote or sound bite from the Guardian.
DeleteName me a person with any sense who would invest their hard earned in start up property?
You have plenty of spare land to build on. It could be a new start and you could flit into Derbyshire with the money. You may wish to stay but I doubt it as local was too shite for the wedding.
Sheffield is lefty controlled and lefties bugger up everything they can get their hands on. They call it equalisation but who would want it.
With their sub-median intelligence the invaders are trying to run things. Jared was bad enough but at least he didn't squat in bling and posh Docs for a crap on the table in the Lord Mayors chamber. The folk you vote for will be your demise and that of your kids and grandchildren.
AW, you are forgetting the Socialist mantra of "Do what I say, not what I do". Will they ever change?
DeleteI don't know what Rayner is crowing about; housebuilding under Blair and Brown failed to achieve anywhere near the targets they set. A bit like Blair's 40,000 more NHS hospital beds that didn't materialise either. Rayner needs to get real about land prices and if she wants affordable housing she will have to bail out a lot of local authorities who are heavily in debt first.
ReplyDeleteI think the more mis-information they can spread before next year's election, the better their chances.
DeleteTo be fair Rachel Angela was shagging behind the bike sheds in those days. Good on her. A spot on lefty lady.
DeleteShe is a fine example to aspiring future Socialist MP's.
DeleteToday new construction is at a low. Home prices are sky high in Massachusetts. Homes are over valued. Most homes in Boston bedroom communities are at minimum half a million dollars. Larger homes are one to two million plus. Communities with the state of Massachusetts have taken over motels to house homeless people. The wealth gap is shocking. Empty office buildings are being considered for conversion to housing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a world-wide problem. Property prices here are outrageous. In France you can still buy wonderful properties for comparatively little.
DeleteThe percentage of "affordable" houses doesn't seem correct when you look at the houses that are being built...or perhaps the definition of "affordable" needs explaining to some people.
ReplyDeleteMost of what is going up won't be for ordinary locals....
They are Gov-UK figures; which is all I have to go on. In fact their actual number for affordable homes is 78%.
Delete