The emphasis will be put on high-rise blocks and city-centres, with developers being urged to ‘build higher’.
The housing white paper will reportedly focus on getting councils and small developers building.
The emphasis will be put on high-rise blocks and city-centres, with developers being urged to ‘build higher’, The Guardian reports.
Meanwhile developers will be forced to start building within two years, rather than three, and be transparent about the process.
The government will say that 40% of local planning authorities lack a plan to build enough homes to meet what’s required.
The Telegraph reports that councils will be told to set aside land, unveiling plans for a ‘standardised’ way of calculating the number of homes required.
Ministers apparently believe some councils are fudging figures on housing demand to limit development.
Meanwhile Sky News reports that a £3bn fund is being created to help small developers end the stranglehold of the big housebuilders on the market, labelled as an ‘oligopoly’ by the House of Lords last year.
Sajid Javid, secretary of state of communities and local government, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I accept that it shouldn’t all be about ownership, that some people do want to, by choice, rent, and we should be making sure that we’re looking at all types of tenancies – ownership, rental, whatever it is.
“The reality is we need more homes, whether to rent or buy.
“The fact is we haven’t been building enough houses for decades under successive governments.
“I think it’s the greatest barrier to social progress in Britain today.”
