North Herts Council Leader Daniel Allen has responded in support of the government’s announcement on Tuesday (30 July) that they will bring back local housing targets. Angela Rayner, the new Labour Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “Our country is in a housing crisis. Too few homes are being built, and even fewer are affordable. We’re overhauling the planning system to fix the foundations, grow the economy, and build the homes people need.”
Cllr Daniel Allen said: “We need to stimulate growth nationally and housebuilding can be a part of this, but it must be balanced with powers for local authorities to resist developer-led proposals so that suitable sustainable homes are built in the right places. Letchworth Garden City, where our main council offices are based, is a fantastic example of how to develop, providing homes alongside places to work and play, not creating dormitories to commute into London from.
“Building affordable housing in the right places is what we need to relieve the housing crisis. North Herts Council will be helping with this but in a sustainable, infrastructure-led way with housing that works for our residents first. Mandatory targets must go hand in hand with infrastructure improvements.
“As a Greenbelt authority we need to make sure we have the right housing mix - both numbers and quality - in the right places. North Herts has high land values so we must make sure developers deliver high quality genuinely affordable housing. Labour’s announcement shows the party won't duck difficult decisions and neither will North Herts Council.”
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