Housebuilding: Target

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I can, because it is an unprecedented amount of money: £11.5 billion for the affordable homes programme. In this programme, more than double the number of homes, 180,000 homes, will be for social rent, and a great number will be for sub-market rent. So there is a real commitment in this Government to deliver housing of all types and tenures, and in particular socially rented housing.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, are the Government mindful that noise is a great irritant? Should local authorities consider airport growth when determining their local housing needs and avoid approving development in the proximity of airports that may be impacted, in the future, by the current and future operations of that airport? As an example, North West Leicestershire District Council, as I understand it, has a number of proposals for housing around East Midlands Airport.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, there is quite a lot of noise today, but what I will say in answer to the noble Viscount’s question is that local authorities need to think about how to develop their areas for the benefit of the local community. This obviously includes building homes, but in the right place, in the right way and going with the grain of the local area. Indeed, economic development is a fundamental part of local leadership.