Letter: It’s A Bit Rich For Labour to Criticise the Local Plan Now

Published on: 1 Aug, 2017
Updated on: 1 Aug, 2017

From Ben Paton

In response to: Opinion: Local Plan – Not Enough Ambition, Not Enough Vision

What is the Labour Party’s vision for housing? Just increase the so-called ‘affordable’ housing element from 40% to 50% ie more of the same. That’s not very radical.

The shortage is in council housing. It is a shortage created by government policy. So why doesn’t the Labour state that it will stop selling council houses? Why doesn’t it say it will means test the use of this social asset? Why won’t it say that it will actually build council housing rather than follow Guildford Borough Council’s policy of investing in office blocks?

Affordable housing is a bogus policy dreamt up by house builders for house builders. If one council house is needed, why not build it rather than incentivise private house builders with planning permission to build two houses on the condition that one of them is “affordable”.

Affordable housing does little or nothing to provide low rent housing. And it only benefits the first buyer of the house.

It’s a bit rich of the Labour Party to be criticising this draft Local Plan now when it has given it its support for the past five years.