A new report out today has projected that, in order to meet its target of 1.5 million homes in the current Parliament, the government will need to deliver 450,000 homes in its final year.
The new report, ‘The road to 1.5 million new homes’ has come from cross-sector housing organisation The Housing Forum.
Recognising that housing completions are due to slump to around 160,000 in the current year, it calculates that housing delivery will need to reach 450,000 in 2028/9 in order to achieve the 1.5 million target, a number not seen since 1968.
The housing crisis causes untold suffering as well as being one of the country’s biggest barriers to growth. The Housing Forum has been very pleased to see housing taking a prominent role in recent announcements. Housing Forum members share the Government’s ambitions and are keen to support the delivery of new homes of all tenures across the country.
The road map presents a timeline of policy change and funding needed for the housing sector to meet the government’s ambitious housing goal of 1.5 million homes. It highlights the need to deliver ambitious planning reform, including properly resourcing the planning system, reviewing green belt land particularly around London, and funding infrastructure and regeneration on brownfield sites.
Launching the report, The Housing Forum’s Chief Executive, Shelagh Grant, said: “We all know that a step change in housebuilding rates is needed. The Government’s targets are ambitious, especially given the challenging situation in which the housing sector currently finds itself.
“However, the organisations we work across the housing sector – from architects and manufacturers, to housebuilders, housing associations and local councils – are ambitious too.
“We’ve set out here the policy reforms that we believe would help the sector to deliver the new homes that are so badly needed.”
