As last week's King's Speech confirmed, Rachel Reeves is staging a planning revolution. The Chancellor aspires to deliver no fewer than 1.5m homes over this parliament to revive the economy – and solve the chronic housing shortage.
The Government has made a pledge to be 'builders not blockers' and its hugely ambitious policies should allow hundreds of thousands of young people to fulfil the dream of climbing on to the housing ladder. But will these ground-breaking measures mean bumper profits for Britain's household name developers, making their shares an essential buy for your portfolio? Or will the reforms be blocked by a range of challenges, including legal action from locals determined to safeguard the identity of their town or village from a new housing scheme? Here's what you need to know about the plans, the obstacles – but also the opportunities that could allow you to make the most of a future construction boom. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled ambitious plans to build 1.
5million new homes THE PLANS The reforms risk opening a chasm of dissent. The Yimby (yes in my back yard) pro-development group are set to be ranged against those who fear for the desecration of our countryside. Even those who would not call themselves Nimbys (not in my back yard) will fear that the policies will allow more urban sprawl, producing scores of poorly constructed homes without roads, schools and GP surgeries and other amenities vital to a community.
As legal firm Michelmores highlights, the Government intends to make 'full use of intervention powers' to drive through its pledge to be 'builders not blockers'. Local councils will be compelled once more to meet compulsory housing targets, able only to determine 'how, not if' homes are built. Ideally, housing policies should turn Nimbys into Slimbys (something logical in my backyard), confident that new housing will be beautiful, durable and surrounded by a wealth of amenities.
But winning hearts and minds does...
Anne Ashworth.
