Letter: We Need a Wholesale Shift in Our Housing Policy

Published on: 7 Jul, 2021
Updated on: 7 Jul, 2021

From: Sam Peters

Spokesperson for The Green Party

In response to: Do We Really Need to Worry About Local Plan Housing Numbers?

The significant majority of developers couldn’t care less about whether there is the infrastructure or facilities to support development – if they believe they can make enough profit they will build regardless. If not, they will sit on the land until its value has inflated to the point where it becomes profitable to build.

It’s the same reason why just building more homes isn’t a solution to the housing crisis – because developers aren’t interested in providing genuinely affordable homes for young people or new families, they’re interested in what makes the most money. And if that’s an inefficient six-bed monstrosity built over a rare habitat, then that’s what will be built regardless of what the actual housing need, as long as they believe they can find a buyer.

If successive governments continue to view housing as investment rather than a human right in any decent, relatively rich society, then no amount of developer-led housing will ever build the homes we actually need. Nothing short of a wholesale shift in housing policy – not to mention removing the influence of developer donations and cosy relationships between some parties and the biggest developers – will protect our most precious green spaces or “solve” the housing crisis.

Share This Post