Reform
Estate renewal
Ensuring that everyone in Britain has a roof over their head is one of the core duties of Government. Many council homes, built decades ago for precisely that, are now outdated, overcrowded and not insulated to modern standards. At the same time, our cities are crying out for more homes, especially council homes. Estate renewal can deliver better homes for existing tenants as well as increasing supply. Requiring tenant ballots means that schemes can only go ahead where estate residents are truly in favour.
Greater Cambridge
Cambridge is home to a world-class university, incredible heritage and many of the UK’s life sciences and other high-tech companies, which offer a range of high wage jobs.
But restrictive planning policies and a tight green belt now mean it’s one of the most unaffordable cities in the country. Building more homes to make housing more affordable for current and future residents is one of the best things we can do to help with the housing crisis as well as grow the economy.
Street votes
Street votes are a new, non-partisan idea to empower communities to say yes to the right housing where they wish. They are meant as a supplement to the existing planning system. The idea is that residents on individual streets could jointly propose rules on the design of extensions or other construction on their street. If they wish, they could allow more extensions of a particular design, or more ambitious development.
Community land auctions
Community land auctions are an exciting policy idea that could help us build more housing whilst ensuring that local communities see the benefit of allowing development near them.
Currently, when land is given planning permission for new homes it can increase in value by over 80 times. Currently, the vast majority of this goes to the landowner and other players, with very little captured by the local authority. Community land auctions would give councils the tools to capture much more of the value uplift, which they can then spend on local priorities, like improved infrastructure and better public services.
Upwards extensions
Building more homes is not the only way to help solve the housing crisis. We have long pushed for policies that allow people to make the most of their existing homes by adding extra space for them and their family, or add an additional home. Allowing more homeowners to extend their properties upwards would give existing homes a new lease of life and make a small but significant contribution to ending the housing crisis.
