CONSERVATIVE PARTY CONFERENCE 2016: Communities secretary Sajid Javid has elevated the problem of delivering more homes to a “moral duty” which “falls on all of us”, saying housing is his “number one priority” in post.
He announced a £5bn investment package to support housebuilding at the Conservative conference, comprising a £3bn home builders’ fund and £2bn of new investment for housebuilding on publicly owned brownfield land.
“Tackling this housing shortfall isn’t about political expediency,” Javid said.
“It is a moral duty. And it is one that falls on all of us. Not just in Parliament, but in business, in local government and in our communities.”
Taking a hard line with the private sector, he said: “The big developers must release their stranglehold on supply. It is time to stop sitting on landbanks, delaying build-out: the homebuyers must come first.
“Almost 280,000 planning permissions were issued over the past 12 months. I want to see each and every one of those homes built as soon as possible.”
Javid also warned MPs and councillors that they must be “prepared to make difficult calls” on planning applications, “even if they are unpopular”.
He said: “All of us have a duty to think about the long-term consequences of every decision we make.”
Setting out a more interventionist approach to housebuilding than the previous government, Javid said: “We will take government-owned land and partner with contractors and investors to speed up housebuilding.
“We will create new supply chains using offsite construction. And we will encourage new models of building to make houses that people want, more cheaply and at pace.
“These measures will allow us to get started on 15,000 homes by 2020.”
More details of the government’s new housing policies will be released in a white paper later this year.
• To send feedback, e-mail Louisa.Clarence-Smith@estatesgazette.com or tweet @LouisaClarence or @estatesgazette
