Speaking at the party's annual conference on Tuesday 10 October 2023, Starmer promised a decade of national renewal, to accelerate building on unused urban land, and set out plans for a wave of new towns near England's cities, echoing those built by the first Labour government after World War II. He claimed that homeownership had become a luxury for the few, and British people needed the security of owning their own homes.
The party believes that building again is critical for economic growth. They want to build an unspecified number of large-scale settlements on land acquired by dedicated state-backed companies with powers to buy land at lower prices, without having to factor in the increase in the value of land for potential planning permission. Starmer stated that Labour protects the environment, so it won't mean they are tearing up the green belt.
A six-month consultation would be run to identify areas with unmet housing needs suitable for new development. Local councils will be invited to draw up proposals, with any affordable homes being put towards meeting their local housing targets.
Planning for the future
Getting rid of useless spaces like car parks was also a pledge and Starmer promised to put an end to land banking (the practice of buying land as an investment, holding it for future use and making no specific plans for its development).
Labour also intends to rewrite planning rules to set out national standards for five-storey Georgian-style townhouse blocks. Developers would be more likely to be granted planning permission on brownfield sites if they follow them.
How much new housing is needed?
It’s difficult to arrive at a precise number, but according to one estimate commissioned by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and Crisis from Heriot-Watt University, around 340,000 new homes need to be supplied in England each year, of which 145,000 should be affordable.
Currently, the new housing supply is lower than the current UK Government’s ambition of 300,000 new homes per year. Around 233,000 new homes were supplied in 2021/22.
Propertymark encourages the future UK Government to increase development on brownfield land within city and town centres, especially where there is already a high demand for housing.
Therefore, Propertymark welcomes Labour’s commitment to build more homes on brownfield sites, and we urge them to clarify how they will meet this ambition. It is the key to constructing the housing infrastructure this country desperately needs.
