Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech on planning and
housing, Campbell Robb, chief executive of the independent Joseph
Rowntree Foundation (JRF), said:
“High housing costs are trapping people in poverty, but every
year we’re falling short of building the low-cost rented homes we
need to meet demand. It is not right that so many families are
struggling to make ends meet.
“Yet the speech overlooked entirely the role central
government must play in redesigning the housing market and
building the affordable homes we need – private developers and
local authorities cannot do this alone.
“A failure to do so will mean that many families on low
incomes will miss out on the opportunity to build a decent and
secure life. The forthcoming social housing Green Paper is an
opportunity: we urge the Government to commit to building 78,000
affordable homes a year.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
JRF’s recent briefing, Using the Social Housing Green
Paper to boost the supply of low-cost rented homes, sets out
why the Government must use its forthcoming Social Housing Green
Paper to build 78,000 low-cost rented homes: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/using-social-housing-green-paper-boost-supply-low-cost-rented-homes
Analysis by JRF shows nearly
600 additional low-cost rented homes
need to be built every week in order to fix the broken housing
market and help low-income families escape poverty. But plans
announced by the Government will deliver less than 100 new
low-cost rented homes a week, one-sixth of the extra supply
needed – a level deemed to fall far short of the number required.
Over the last 12 years, private developers have delivered just
under half of affordable homes through planning obligations,
often referred to as ‘Section 106’ agreements: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/rethinking-planning-obligations-balancing-housing-numbers-and-affordability
