Name of CPF Chairman / Richard Bramwell QC
Name of Constituency / Wealden
Number of people contributing to the discussion / 22
Please provide preferred contact details for the response /
Date of Submission / November 6 2013
Data Sharing Information / We would like to share CPF comments in a public domain.
However, please mark 'private' in the box below if you do not wish your comments to be shared outside of the Conservative Party (including Conservative political representatives) and our CPF membership.
Private/ General (please specify) / General
Question 1
How do we deliver more housing while addressing local concerns about inappropriate development?
To meet the affordability crisis whilst avoiding inappropriate development, the priority should be to develop brownfield sites. These should include not only derelict land but also land where the buildings have outlived their usefulness. To this end, compulsory purchase powers need to be streamlined and where possible, schemes of comprehensive re-development should be brought forward.
Greater emphasis should be placed on higher density housing such as is common in Europe, where for example small blocks of apartments of 3 or 4 storeys are built around an area of open space.
More flexibility should be allowed in areas of green belt and AONB’s so as to allow small-scale, self-build development in unobtrusive areas.
The case for New Towns should be considered.
Question 2
If tax or other government financial support was available for house building in 2015, where should this support be directed?
Whilst the present support for house-buyers through “Help to Buy” is understandable as a temporary measure, in the long term financial support for house-buyers must tend to inflate prices and make houses less affordable. Financial support should be directed towards Local Authorities and Housing Associations to enable them to construct affordable housing.
Question 3
What other strategies could the Government adopt to facilitate reutilisation of redundant land and buildings?
See Q1.
Question 4
What should government be doing to encourage home ownership in 2015?
Strong feelings were expressed about the unfairness of Stamp Duty. It is wrong in principle that the present system should continue whereby the whole of the purchase price is taxed at a single rate. Different rates should apply to different parts of the price so that, for example, where a house is sold for £260,000, the first £125,000 should be free of SDLT, the next £125,000 should bear 1% and the excess 3%. At present, the whole £260,000 bears 3%.The system is irrational and operates as a block at certain levels of the market.
Question 5
What more can Government do to encourage a fair and flexible social housing sector?
Local Authorities are debarred from borrowing to build. This seems an unduly rigid policy and given the scale of the housing problem, the policy should be reviewed to see if Local Authority building can be part of the solution.
Question 6
What more can the Government do to help professionalise and stabilise the private rented sector?
The sense of the meeting was that the private rented sector did not require professionalization or stabilisation.
Other Comments (if any)
Thank You. Please return to:
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CPF Brief No 7/2013 Page 1 of 5
Return Date: by 6 December 2013
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