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Gordon Brown: 3m New Homes to be Constructed
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has today announced that housing will form a prominent part of his parliamentary programme lasting into 2008. In a historic break from the tradition of MPs being informed after the Queen's speech, Mr Brown detailed how he wanted the construction of three million new homes to take place prior to 2020. Other associated factors included within this were the introduction of fixed-rate, 25 year mortgages - designed to make housing more affordable - and a dedicated Homes Agency to monitor new developments.
However, within the Conservative Party, claims were quick to emerge that, attached to Mr Brown's proposal, was the element of damage this would cause to the greenbelt.
Up to 100,000 of the projected 3m homes could, Mr Brown said, be constructed on 550 sites in the ownership of the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, which are surplus to requirements. These, the Prime Minister added, would be so-called "brownfield sites". Speaking generally, he concluded that "we've got to make housing more affordable."
Yesterday, Hazel Blears, the Communities Minister, suggested that the construction of new houses should be prioritised over concerns related to the environment. Addressing the local government select committee, Ms Blears added that she was unable to provide "categoric assurances" about redefining the green belt. According to the Conservatives, this had "raised the prospect of the government systematically concreting over" current areas of protection. A further and linked suggestion was that Ms Blears had given "the green light to green belt destruction on a massive scale."
However, Mr Brown's spokesman today sought to assure that all land currently governed by green belt jurisdiction would be unaffected by the new proposal. Detailing this further, he stated that the Prime Minister was "not proposing any changes to the robust terms" of the present green belt thresholds.
There are presently 14 areas designated as "green belts" in the UK. Conceived originally over 50 years ago, the term essentially refers to areas of land which not only are preserved in their natural state, and therefore protected from industrial development, but also which offer multiple opportunities for leisure and education. 13 per cent of the UK is currently governed by green belt law.
Source - Construction International's Political Editor