Residential Accommodation: Empty Homes
Debate between Baroness Thornhill and Baroness Swinburne
Baroness Swinburne (Con)
I thank my noble friend for that question. The reality is that the Government have taken many steps with regard to permitted development rights to try to get some of those non-residential properties into residential use. I am sure that my noble friend is aware of some of them, but I would be delighted to give him some statistics from the department in writing.
Baroness Thornhill (LD)
My Lords, there is ample evidence that the threshold for a council to prove that a home is empty is too high, either for compulsory purchase or, as the noble Baroness mentioned, to use empty dwelling management orders. Will the Government seriously consider removing the need to prove that there has been either vandalism, anti-social behaviour or dangerous dereliction before a council can even begin to take action? Often, once the action has started it can take years to complete. That is a significant barrier to councils taking important action.
Baroness Swinburne (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for her question; I am sure she is aware that the LGA published a report in September which clarifies and helps focus on the practical tools that councils can use to bring empty properties back into use. However, not only the measures I just referred to are available to local authorities; they can of course use money from the £11.5 billion affordable homes programme to bring empty properties back into use. They can benefit from the new homes bonus, incentivising them to find ways to reduce the number of empty homes and to make sure that they remove as many barriers as possible. Local authorities can also use compulsory purchase orders to acquire empty properties where there is a compelling case in the public interest. Lots of tools are available to councils, and we are trying to make it easier by working with them to identify what those barriers are and how we might eliminate them.
Housing and Planning: Policy Changes
Debate between Baroness Thornhill and Baroness Swinburne
Baroness Thornhill (LD)
My Lords, the Government have announced that our major towns and cities must increase their housing numbers by 35%—the so-called urban uplift—while simultaneously announcing that the green belt is to be further protected. Where do the Government get the evidence for this significant change in policy direction, inflicting high-density housing, increasing traffic and pollution and a greater strain on all local infrastructure in those areas? Does the Minister not agree with me that all local authorities should shoulder their fair share of meeting the nation’s housing need? When the standard formula is reassessed next year, will it actually reflect fairness and not political expediency?
Baroness Swinburne (Con)
The regeneration and renaissance of 20 cities is the fundamental cornerstone of today’s announcements and of those made previously, to accelerate the transformation, intensification and regeneration of our cities, building on the work that we have already seen and started in Wolverhampton and Sheffield. This Government will allocate £800 million from the £1.5 billion brownfield, infrastructure and land fund, to unlock some 56,000 new homes on brownfield sites, taking the infrastructure-first approach to build up our cities, in addition to a further £550 million for Homes England to deploy nationally. They are therefore providing Greater Manchester with some £150 million going to Andy Burnham to unlock some 7,000 new homes, and in the West Midlands some £100 million is going to Andy Street to unlock some 4,000 new homes. They are also creating a new partnership with Leeds City Council to drive housing and regeneration, building up the financial services sector and the new Bank of England presence. All of this is building on brownfield rather than greenfield and of course, as and when necessary, all of these things will come to this House.