Abandoned by housing policy, England’s ‘kept-behind’ towns are fighting back | Peter Hetherington

The strategy for building homes is so skewed towards the south, whole swathes of the country are having to go it alone

English housing policy has one objective: build more. The country needs extra, and better, housing. Right? On the surface, it might seem an obvious objective. But where? And should better housing always mean more homes, rather than renewed homes and revitalised communities?

Currently, the government's strategy is largely focused on areas facing what its housing agency calls "affordability pressures". The rationale appears simple: build more, and assuredly house prices will fall. That neatly ignores the fact that its heavily criticised "help-to-buy" scheme, offering subsidised loans of up to 20% of a property price (40% in London) has pushed up prices further and boosted the profits of the big house-builders. More contentiously, though, the strategy of Homes England skews funding overwhelmingly towards the south-east - and away from other towns, cities and once-thriving industrial communities, largely in the north.

Should better housing always mean more homes, rather than renewed homes and revitalised communities?

Related: For England's new councillors, the reality of life in our boroughs will hit hard | Peter Hetherington

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