John Prescott’s Housing Policy Jag

WITH apartment blocks going up on every bit of vacant land faster than you can say “property developers are the spawn of Satan”, it comes as little surprise that there is now a surplus of flats struggling to be sold. (Pic: The Spine)

New Government figures show that since 2000 the price of a family house has risen at eight times the rate of a new flat as the shortage of houses and “tidal wave” of new flats continues to drive the property boom.

With families now struggling to make the move up from apartment to house, both the Tories and a number of building experts are pointing the finger at John Prescott.

Since the introduction of the part-time Deputy Prime Minister and part-time lover’s planning regulations in 2000, the number of houses being built has dropped significantly, with over 20,000 fewer built last year than in 2000.

Those PPG3 guidelines brought in by the New Labour heavyweight forced developers to maximise the number of homes built on each plot of land in order to meet the need for new homes while avoiding the need to build on green belts.

Roger Humber, of the House Builders Association, isn’t impressed. He tells us: “When politicians try to rig the market they eventually corrupt the market. It’s the outward workings of Prescottian economics, as I call it.”

Humber also points to the current situation in Manchester were there are 20,000 flats awaiting planning permission compared to just a handful of houses.

Tory housing spokesman, Michael Gove, also has a pop at Prezzer: “Government housing rules have led to a ‘pile ‘em high’ approach to development, which has seen us getting flats rather than family homes. We know the primary demand is for family houses but because of the planning system there is a lack of supply.”

I wonder how many families could live in one of Prescott’s Jags?

Anorak

Posted: 29th, May 2007 | In: Money Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink