Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has stated that he is in favour of building new homes across the country, as he is a “yes in my back yard” (Yimby) person instead of a “not in my back yard” (Nimby) one. He went on to say that restrictive planning rules would be “bulldozed” and that local MPs would be overruled to help deliver the 1.5 million homes he aims to build if elected. Pro-housing advocates who favour building projects starting in their areas are referred to as Yimbys. Sir Keir said he wanted to work with local communities, but also felt that planning should not just be limited to localized areas.
Speaking earlier this week at the annual Labour Party conference, Sir Keir gave an hour-long speech outlining his plan to create a wave of new towns near English cities, similar to those constructed by Labour following World War II. The Labour Party leader also expressed his desire to restrict the ability of councils to prevent building on unused urban land, providing developers meet new planning rulebook criteria for Georgian-style townhouse blocks.
Sir Keir intends to start a six-month consultation process inviting bids from councils to participate, but has not provided specifics regarding the locations or quantities of new towns’ proposals. Participating local authorities would be able to add affordable housing to their existing quotas, according to Labour’s plans. The party’s objective is to construct 1.5 million homes in England within a five-year period, matching the current government’s objective of producing 300,000 new units per year from the middle of this decade.
Labour’s chief objective is to get the balance right between local concerns and the demand for new housing, and Sir Keir remarked that the party must “bulldoze away” the restrictive planning rules that have been in place under previous governments. When questioned how Labour’s proposals differed from the government’s current strategy, Sir Keir indicated that they were accompanied by a “plan for delivery” and that his commitments had been “robustly tested.
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