Is Labour planning to ‘bulldoze the home counties’?
Labour have outlined plans to reclassify some low quality green belt land as grey belt in order to build more homes in England, but criticism has come from rivals, right-wing press and NIMBYs.
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In brief…
- Keir Starmer has promised to “overhaul” the broken planning system in the UK, but critics have said he will bulldoze huge parts of the English countryside.
- Local people are reported to be outraged, with concerns about the low-cost housing developers are likely to build near existing homes.
- The News Agents say Labour has proven a “steely” government so far, and are unlikely to let pressure change its mind.
What's the story?
It is a promise we have heard time and time again: Get Britain building.
But this time, it comes from Keir Starmer and his (relatively) new Labour government, with a pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in England in the next five years.
He says his government will "overhaul the broken planning system" in the UK, introducing targets for local councils to meet on how many homes must be built every year.
Some, including Labour councils, have said the targets could be impossible to achieve.
Labour is planning a review of green belt areas, identifying which parts can be reclassified as grey belt – lower quality areas which could be built on without causing any environmental damage. This could include car parks, old petrol stations or other areas that have been previously built on.
The Tories have accused the government of "concreting over" green belt land, with the right-wing press claiming it plans to "bulldoze" the Home Counties.
"I don't think they're trying to bulldoze the entire home counties, and I don't think they're building on every bit of green belt land," says Jon Sopel.
"But you can see that the opposition that is going to come in and say that Labour is just ruining our countryside, and we should be concentrating on building in already built up areas."
What are the NIMBYs saying?
NIMBY, an abbreviation for 'not in my back yard', is someone who certainly is up for more building, but only if it doesn't affect them.
Some people in small towns, villages and other areas currently designated as green belt are reportedly outraged at Labour's building plans.
Lewis says the UK’s planning system is the most “laborious” in all of Europe, and is weighted in favour of people who already own their own homes.
"Local councils are dominated by older people who are basically making decisions on the basis of objections which have usually been received by older people," he says.
"That has profound generational consequences, because what the system does is provide incentives to defend the interests of people who are already there."
Emily Maitlis says one thing that is rarely considered, and what people object to the most, is the aesthetic of new developments.
"If you offered people a lovely little Georgian arcade right at the end of their road – everyone loves a Georgian house – nobody would complain," she says.
"What people hate is the ugliness of bad building sites."
Emily says Labour needs to listen to people's concerns, even if they don't change their minds.
"Part of it is getting away from the idea that you can't voice a concern without being considered an absolute selfish cow," she says.
"You've got to be able to say; we get your nervousness, we get some of this nervousness. We're not going to stop the building.
"For this to be delivered successfully you have to reassure people, particularly when Labour has gained so many seats in part of the South, the commuter belt."
This, she adds, is now Labour heartland – whether it intended it to be or not.
"They've got to go carefully."
What's The News Agents' take?
Lewis says the government needs to address some major questions about any developments that go ahead in England, whether on green or grey belt land.
"We desperately need housing supply," he says.
"What we should really think about is not just how much we're building, but what we're building? What sort of houses are we building? What facilities do they have? What amenities are nearby? Is nature and woodland and all that sort of thing incorporated into them.
"Developers want to be cheap, that's what they want to do. They literally want to build boxes."
Emily says that Labour's approach to housing reforms are in line with some of their previous decisions since coming to power.
"What I think you can say about Labour is that we've not seen the flip flopping and policy u-turns that we saw in opposition," she says.
"So far, they haven't moved on the farmers' stuff. They haven't moved on the National Insurance contributions. They haven't budged on the winter fuel. They haven't budged on the two child credit cap.
"There is something quite steely about Labour, I think. And the one thing I'd say is that they have got time on their hands."