New homes well below growth in population in 41 areas in Eastern region GMB study shows

Housing

New homes well below growth in population in 41 areas in the Eastern region GMB study shows in response to government housing white paper

Across the Eastern Region the number of new homes built in the last six years is only 72.1% of the number of new households formed in the same period. Overall there are 41 areas in the region where the number of new homes ranges from 27.7% to 97.1% of the number of new households formed in the areas during this period. [See notes to editors for copy of the press release from DCLG]

In Luton, households have been increasing by an average of 1,179 per year since 2010 and over the same period the net additional dwellings have increased by 320 per year. The increase in the number of dwellings is 27.1% of the increase in households, showing the biggest housing gap in the area.

The next 5 are Southend-on-Sea with 32.1%, Welwyn Hatfield with 37.5%, Stevenage with 43.2%, North Hertfordshire with 50.0% and Norwich with 50.1%. Of the 47 areas, only 6 are creating enough additional dwellings to meet demand from increase in households.

The 6 areas with additional dwellings higher than household growth are King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, Suffolk Coastal, Broadland, Castle Point, Waveney and South Norfolk.

In England as a whole, households have been increasing by an average of 218,316 per year since 2010 and over the same period the net additional dwellings have increased by 148,993 per year. The increase in the number of dwellings is 68.2% of the increase in households.

The table below has the figures for all 47 local authority areas in the region. See notes to editors for sources and definitions. 

“The White Paper recognises that building more homes for rent is an essential part of the solution to the shortage of housing.

“It is essential that Government recognises that, like in 1907, local councils should be given powers to build homes for rent. This power stood until Mrs Thatcher took it away in the 1980s. There is no way that the targets can be met unless councils do build housing for rent at affordable rents.

“The policy Mrs Thatcher put in place instead has been extremely costly and has not delivered the number of new affordable homes required. Housing benefit paid to private landlords has soared and the total annual costs of this costly policy are now £24 billion of taxpayers’ money. 

“Government should not back down on the requirements that developers must start building on any sites 24 months after planning permission is granted.”

End

Contact: Dave Powell 07710 631349; Richard O'Leary 07710 631347

Notes to editors:

1) Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Press Release on ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’: beisgovuk.citizenspace.com/strategy/industrial-strategy/?utm_campaign=gov&utm_source=gov.uk&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=homepage

We want to build an industrial strategy that addresses long-term challenges to the UK economy. Our aim is to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country.

This green paper sets out our vision for a modern industrial strategy and some early actions we have committed to take. It aims to start a genuinely open and collaborative conversation about the skills, research, infrastructure and the other things we need to get right to drive long term growth in productivity.

The green paper sets out how we propose to build our industrial strategy. It is not intended to be the last word, but to start a consultation.

We hope anyone with an interest will respond. We welcome your comments as part of a broad discussion on the approach and ideas we have set out, in order to make the industrial strategy effective in delivering an economy that works for everyone.

2) Source: Annual Population Survey from the Office for National Statistics. Annual Population Survey is residence based and a continuous household survey covering the UK.

The data is for the economic activity rate of those aged 16-64. Economically Active people are those either in employment or unemployed.

The APS is the source recommended for employment-related statistics, such as estimates of the number of people in employment or unemployed.