We will need to build on the green belt to solve housing crisis

摘要

Following on the heels of the Budget, the government has announced a shake-up of the planning system, intended to unlock brownfield sites by relaxing planning requirements and extending compulsory purchase powers. The government would like to see planning permission on 90% of suitable brownfield sites by 2020. However, focusing on brownfield land is not enough. The government's own data shows that in the last five years the number of new homes built on brownfield land remained at around 97,000 per year. So doubling the amount of new homes built on brownfield land would take the total to 194,000. If we were to take 240,000 completions as a minimum to ease the housing crisis, then doubling the number of brownfield completions would not solve the crisis. Brownfield will play a role, but we also need to take a more strategic look at the green belt.