Manchester Evening News

PM reveals plan to fix housing crisis

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THERESA May warned developers that she would “not rule out any options” to tackle delays in homebuildi­ng, as she said there were “perverse incentives” around the bonuses paid to bosses.

In a speech setting out how she aimed to reverse a situation where the UK had failed for decades to build enough homes, Mrs May was forced to respond to claims she had been a Nimby for objecting to developmen­ts in her own constituen­cy.

The Prime Minister, who called for a “great national effort” to get Britain building, said her goal was getting “the right homes in the right places” as she set out a shake-up of planning laws.

Among projects to which she had objected was a scheme by developer Berkeley in Cookham in her Maidenhead seat.

Mrs May said: “This is about building the right homes in the right places. That’s what the planning process is actually about.

“The planning process is a process which ensures that developmen­ts, that proposals for developmen­ts, are looked at properly.

“Yes, I have opposed a number of developmen­ts in my own constituen­cy.

“I have also, for what it’s worth, supported a developmen­t that took place on a green belt site which had previously been built on.”

The Prime Minister promised extra protection­s for the green belt, calling for an increased density of homes within urban areas to meet demand. She suggested that could include converting shops to homes, as retailers faced difficulti­es caused by the rise in online trade.

Mrs May said the Government had put in place “protection for the high street” but added: “One of the elements of the new planning rules we are setting out is to make it easier for shops to be turned into housing if that’s appropriat­e, but also for developmen­t above retail units to take place.”

She said developers should “do their duty for Britain” and build the required homes, saying councils should take into account whether they actually create homes rather than sit on valuable land when deciding whether to grant planning permission­s.

Mrs May said: “The bonuses paid to the heads of some of our biggest developers are based not on the number of homes they build but on their profits or share price.

“In a market where lower supply equals higher prices, that creates a perverse incentive, one that does not encourage them to build the homes we need.”

Former minister Sir Oliver Letwin is examining the situation in the market and Mrs May said: “If he finds evidence of unjustifia­ble delay, I will not rule out any options for ending such practices.”

Mrs May also promised action to protect people in rented homes, saying the “tragedy of Grenfell Tower shone a spotlight on experience­s shared by many tenants”.

She said that “whether you are renting by choice or necessity, you’re not any less of a person for doing so and should not be treated as such”.

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Theresa May

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