Prioritise housebuilding and resist local objection – IfG

The new government must make housebuilding “a consistent political priority” and not concede to local objections, according to the Institute for Government (IfG).

In its report, From the ground up – How the government can build more homes, published today (August 30),the IfG, an independent think tank, states that fixing the housing crisis has been a priority for successive governments. Its report, it says, “examines why so many have found it difficult to deliver on such ambitions”.

The IfG’s work identifies the “persistent barriers” to solving the housing shortage, setting out ten principles to navigating them. In the first, housebuilding must be approached consistently as a political priority, “led from the highest offices of government”, with housing ministers remaining in their posts long enough to “develop a deep understanding of the policy area and build the stakeholder relationships needed to deliver”.

A reliable policy approach would allow the housebuilding industry to invest and grow to build the homes needed, the IfG’s report also states. Noting the Labour government’s “encouraging first steps” with planning reform, the IfG recommends the deputy prime minister and chancellor “continue to lead this brief” during this parliament.

The housing minister …