Liberal Democrats to “build the homes people desperately need”

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to deliver 380,000 homes a year and "build the homes people desperately need with meaningful community engagement”, as part of its election manifesto launched today (June 10).

In For a Fair Deal – Manifesto 2024, the party confirms its housebuilding target of 380,000 new homes across the UK, including 150,000 social abodes.

It states that it will build ten new garden cities, and ensure all housing schemes have the right infrastructure, services and amenities in place, “integrating infrastructure and public service delivery into the planning process”.

It also wants to allow councils to buy land for housing based on current use value rather than on a “hope value” basis. This would be through reforming the Land Compensation Act 1961; Labour has said it will use compulsory purchase order powers to remove hope value. This is an estimate of the cost of land if it was developed in the future.

The Liberal Democrats also pledge to financially encourage the development of existing brownfield sites, with affordable and social housing included in these developments.

For developers “who refuse to build”, the party said it would introduce “use-it-or-lose” planning permission, echoing similar previous …