If Labour wins Thursday’s General Election. expect three major housing announcements within a fortnight.
That’s the exclusive claim from the Sunday Times – which yesterday became the latest newspaper to declare itself for Labour.
The paper says one of the announcements will be a draft National Planning Policy Framework, which will reinstate the local housing targets abandoned by Housing Secretary Michael Gove last year.
The second will be a local authority-led review of the Green Belt: Labour has already suggested it will allow selective‘unattractive’ parts to be built on for housing.
The Times says this will involve local authorities setting up regular review periods, nominating parts of the Green Belt appropriate for development.
The third announcement will involve a so far unspecified new affordable house building programme.
Beyond that, Labour will announce plans to recruit some 300 new planning officers and give details of a ‘first dibs’ scheme to prioritise local first time buyers when new housing schemes go on sale.
Party leader Sir Kier Starmer says that if Labour wins he wants to “hit the ground running” on housing policy, and may cut short the traditional six week Parliamentary summer recess to begin legislation.
The newspaper – which carried a joint interview with Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves – makes no reference to the controversial Renters Reform Bill, which Labour has pledged to reintroduce with stronger tenant powers than in the original proposal.
