Housing and Planning Bill
Debate between Marie Rimmer and Seema Kennedy
Seema Kennedy
I have the greatest respect for the hon. Gentleman, but the Lords amendments would hold the process up; we would get to 2019, and no starter homes would have been built—I really fear that that would happen. The amendments would slow things down, but we need to start building now.
As we know, house prices have risen exponentially, particularly in London, but that is because of a lack of supply. The picture is complicated, and one could not say that things have happened for one particular reason, but the lack of supply is a fundamental block, and we touched on that all the way through Committee. We need to get more houses built—and quickly.
There was much debate in Committee about permission in principle—the new consent model of planning—which will provide certainty.
Seema Kennedy
I am afraid I am going to make a little more progress.
Developers and builders want certainty and speed. One brake on development is the lack of certainty and the slowness of certain planning departments. The whole essence of the Bill is to get the country building homes—to increase the supply and to make more people home owners.
This measure is particularly effective for small builders, who do not have the scale to have in-house planning departments. Measures to encourage those who might build 10 or 20 homes in a village are particularly effective.