Labour’s New Housing Targets Will Force Burnley and Other Declining Former Industrial Towns to Build Thousands of Unnecessary Homes

A major shake-up is brewing in the UK housing market as Labour’s plans for 1.5 million new homes come into focus.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner recently announced her ambitious proposal to add 370,000 homes annually across England.

This plan includes a return to top-down housing targets for local councils, which will now be set using a new method designed to address affordability issues.

The new approach, which includes an ‘uplift’ for the most unaffordable areas, has raised alarms among experts.

They argue that the formula could be excessively harsh on declining communities, particularly those in former industrial towns.

These areas, which once thrived during the Industrial Revolution, are now experiencing significant shrinkage.

For example, Burnley, a former mining town, is facing a target of 369 new homes per year under the new plan, a significant increase from its current target of 51.

In recent years, some of these towns have earned the nickname ‘ghost towns’ due to their shrinking populations and vacant properties. Burnley alone had 1,731 empty properties in 2023, which have become vulnerable to crime and vandalism.

The local council is already dealing with these issues through an ’empty property team,’ but the new targets might exacerbate the situation.

Dramatic Increases in Housing Targets

Under Labour’s proposed changes, housing targets in several areas are set to increase dramatically.

For instance, Redcar’s target would rise from 45 to 642, Hyndburn from 50 to 313, Hartlepool from 157 to 388, Kingston upon Hull from 536 to 1,053, and County Durham from 1,129 to 2,210.

Overall, the North East will see its targets nearly double, while the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber will also experience significant increases. In contrast, London’s targets will be reduced by 18 percent, which has sparked debate about the fairness of these adjustments.

Criticisms and Comparisons

Robert Colvile from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has criticized the new formula for pushing up housing targets in areas where housing is statistically more affordable and less needed.

He argues that this could lead to an overabundance of new homes in declining regions, rather than addressing the severe housing shortages in more expensive areas like London.

Samuel Hughes from the University of Oxford and CPS points out that the shift from population growth to housing stock for calculating targets might unfairly burden areas with abundant housing stock but declining populations.

The approach could potentially exacerbate housing market distortions, particularly in rural or de-industrialized areas.

Potential Impact on Local Planning

The planning consultancy Lichfields warns that Labour’s new method could distort housing needs estimates. In remote or de-industrialized areas, the formula might lead to inflated housing needs projections that don’t align with actual household growth.

This could result in market displacement or impractical development goals.

County Councils Network’s housing and planning spokesman, Cllr Richard Clewer, suggests that while local authorities are eager to participate in consultations, the new methodology might unfairly favor rural areas lacking infrastructure, while urban areas with better infrastructure could see reduced targets.

Government and Opposition Reactions

In the House of Commons, Tory shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch questioned why Labour’s plan reduces housing needs for infrastructure-rich cities like London, while imposing greater targets on less equipped suburban and rural areas.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) defended the new approach, arguing that it aligns local targets more closely with actual housing delivery. They emphasized that the previous method had led to underestimates in areas like the North and Midlands, and that the new targets aim to address this discrepancy.

In summary, while the new housing targets seek to tackle affordability issues and better match housing supply with demand, they have ignited a debate over their potential impact on declining communities and urban-rural balance.

The government remains open to refining the formula to ensure it meets national housing needs effectively.

TDPel Media

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