The government has announced a five-year housing plan as part of its manifesto for the forthcoming election, including new initiatives aimed at getting more people on to the housing ladder.
Among the measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott are
● A First Time Buyer’s Initiative, using publicly-owned land for new homes and aiming to help 80,000 people into home ownership by 2010.
● Homebuy, a new scheme that will allow tenants of local authorities and housing associations to buy a stake in their home by extending the opportunity for home ownership for up to 300,000 families.
● Ensuring the proceeds from Homebuy sales are re-invested in housing.
● Continuing the right to buy and right to acquire schemes for people who qualify to purchase their home from their local authority or housing association.
● A competition to build a home for £60 000, delivering quality homes at lower costs.
● Changes to the planning system to ensure more affordable housing in rural areas.
● Maintaining a strong social housing sector.
At the same time, Prescott announced a raft of measures pertaining to the government’s sustainable communities plans.
These include:
● Delivering 1.1m new homes by 2016 in four Growth Areas in the South East, and up to £40m to support other areas which want to pursue growth.
● A raft of measures to protect the environment: extending existing density regulations to cover areas of high housing demand in the South West and East, including all the Growth Areas.
● Powers to protect the greenbelt.
● Introducing a code to create more sustainable buildings.
● Extending the £1.2bn market renewal programme in the North and Midlands to cover new areas suffering from low demand and abandoned homes.
● Action to help meet housing need in rural areas, with new planning guidance (PPG3) enabling local authorities to allocate sites for affordable housing in rural communities and permanently dedicated to meeting the needs of key workers and local people.
Prescott’s other measures announced today include:
● Building 10,000 extra social homes a year by 2008 – a 50% increase on current rates.
● MoveUK – a new online system bringing together nationwide information about jobs and housing opportunities, giving people the chance of a fresh start in a new area.
He said: “Tackling the nation’s chronic housing needs and giving people more choice is not just about them gaining a roof over their head it’s about giving people a stronger financial future and ensuring greater social justice.
“We are offering the most comprehensive, fair and flexible policies ever to deliver sustainable home ownership. It means more first-time buyers, more people in social housing and more key workers like nurses and teachers being able to get on to the housing ladder.”
References: EGi News 24/01/05
