RE: [diggers350] Council housing is back: £20m for biggest build in 20 years

[james armstrong]

IN 1967 council housing provision reached a record 190,000 units dwarfing the present total production of all new houses.  The reason for the present failure of output is the misguided reliance of HMG on the giant housebuilders building for private sale, who  see no immediate  prospects , preferring to sit on their landbanks till sales prospects are greater and price prospects higher.
Of course Eileen Short is right, that 2,000 is too few. and I note that this number is only a govt.  aspiration.
Some of us, includiong Wimpey et all, no how little reliance to put on that. 
My reading is that there is little prospect of a return to council house building in a big way. Its a cost that HMG can do without.  The purpose of the gesture is to  frighten Persimmon and Wimpey Barrat et al into restarting building.` They wont be taken in. 
Facilitating self build housing , in contrat to building council houses, costs the  Treasury nothing. (I note  the council houses are costed at £100k each)  
A beautiful detached 3 bed house with gge. and gardens built last year in Pembrokeshire cost the farmer (not the taxpayer) £77,000.
I suppose its too much to expect any government, determined to spend tax payers money, to realise that self build for self occupancy is the way forward, less costly, higher consumer satisfaction and  is  largely independent of market expectations and government funding and is democratic. A resurgence of self build would force     the big boys to restart as they faced a fall in  scarcity value which currently part explains the long term  house price boom.    What self build  does need is positive planning preference over market housing. Self build is  a (presently denied) human right.  
James 
To: diggers350 at yahoogroups.com
From: tony at cultureshop.org.uk
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:29:43 +0000
Subject: [diggers350] Council housing is back: £20m for biggest build in 20 years















 




    
                  Council housing is back: £20m for biggest build in 20 years

Daily Mirror - By Jason Beattie - 09th September 2009 



A good omen for 999?

http://tinyurl.com/myyqt8

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/09/council-housing-is-back-20m-for-biggest-build-in-20-years-exclusive-115875-21658837/



More than 2,000 families will get a new home after the biggest council house building programme for a generation is given the go ahead today.



Work will begin by the end of the year with some accommodation ready for struggling tenants within 12 months. The s250million scheme has only been possible thanks to a s127million boost from the Government.



The 47 councils across England and Wales will pay the rest of the bill. Housing minister John Healey said it is the biggest council house building programme for more than two decades.



The announcement marks a major resurgence in council 6 number built in UK in 2007 for housing after just six new homes were built across Britain in 2007. The credit crunch has forced a change of thinking at Westminster.



Mr Healey said the programme would also help create up to 5,000 new jobs.



He said: "Today I am giving the green light for councils to start building over 2,000 new council homes. It means that, despite the tough economic climate, the biggest council house building programme for almost two decades will begin by the end of the year."



Mr Healey is also planning to change the rules to make it easier for councils to keep the rental income from council properties to invest in new builds. And councils have been given more leeway in managing waiting lists to ensure local people and families are at the front of the queue.



2,000 houses are planned this year alone But Eileen Short, of Defend Council Housing, said: "Two thousand new homes is not enough. It's not even enough just for Birmingham."



2,000 houses are planned for this year alone just 6 were built in UK in 2007. 





 

      

    
    
	
	
	
	


	


	
	
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