Tories fail to hit election manifesto promise to construct 300,000 new properties – once more

The Tories have failed to satisfy their manifesto pledge to construct 300,000 new properties – once more.

According to new figures some 234,397 new properties had been provided in England in 2022/23. The whole consists of 212,568 new builds, in addition to 22,163 properties that noticed a change of use from non-domestic to residential. Despite a nationwide housing disaster it’s 56 fewer new properties on the earlier 12 months which stood at 234,462.

The Tories’ 2019 normal election manifesto promised a goal “of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s” and a dedication to “build at least a million more homes”. But in line with the figures revealed by the Department for Levelling Up – led by the Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Gove – the very best determine because the election stood at 248,591 in 2019/20. This fell sharply to 217,754 in 2020/21 throughout the first 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the summer season the Commons Housing and Communities Committee warned the Government would fail to realize the goal with out “urgent action”. MPs on the committee had additionally warned the variety of new properties may take a “major hit” beneath the Tories’ shake-up of planning guidelines.

In December 2022 Mr Gove scrapped obligatory housing targets for councils in favour of an advisory system. “Planning consultants say annual housebuilding will go down to around 150,000 a year under the Government’s proposed policy reforms,” MPs warned in July.

Housing could become a key issue at next year’s likely general election. Labour leader Keir Starmer promised at the party’s annual conference this year to build 1.5million new homes across England in five years if his party wins power. Mr Starmer promised “shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky” to ship “more beautiful cities [and] more prosperous towns”, including: “That is the accountability of a severe authorities. And if we frequently wash our arms of this activity – all of us find yourself caught in a rut. Just like now.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for remark.

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