New measures to
support homebuyers, build more homes, improve building safety and create a
Commonwealth Games legacy have been unveiled.
The government has
announced:
- a New Homes Ombudsman to
support homebuyers facing problems with their newly built home
- plans to help provide the
homes the country needs through planning reform
- plans to create a lasting
legacy from the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- measures to improve the
safety of high-rise buildings
Measures to champion
the rights of homebuyers and help ensure that when they buy a new home they get
the quality of build they rightly expect. The New Homes Ombudsman will protect
the interests of homebuyers and hold developers to account when things go wrong.
The government is
committed to delivering 300,000 homes a year by the mid 2020s and has announced
further plans to speed up the planning system as well as make better use of
land and vacant buildings to provide the homes that communities need.
This includes more
flexibility to extend upwards on existing blocks of flats, shops and offices
making better use of space by increasing housing density.
Championing
ambitious councils keen to make new garden communities a central part of their
plans for housing and economic growth and have local support there will be
clearer rules to give more certainty for communities when land is needed to
make this a reality.
Local authorities
will also receive additional freedom to make the most of existing brownfield
land and dispose of surplus land that could instead accommodate new homes.
To support a
successful Commonwealth Games in 2022 and create a legacy long after the games
are over, £165 million has been announced to unlock up to 5,100 homes in
Birmingham and provide the infrastructure to support these new homes.
As part of its
comprehensive programme to improve building safety following the Grenfell Tower
tragedy, the government has also confirmed that it will ban the use of
combustible materials on external walls of high-rise residential buildings. The
ban will also apply to hospitals, care homes and student accommodation over 18
metres.
