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Planning: our rural romance mustn't stop us building homes Planning: our rural romance mustn't stop us building homes
(6 months later)
This evening many of us may find escape by watching the first of 42 hours of the BBC's chronicle of 100 years of rural life, The Village, set in the lushly dramatic countryside of Edale and Hayfield in the Peak District.This evening many of us may find escape by watching the first of 42 hours of the BBC's chronicle of 100 years of rural life, The Village, set in the lushly dramatic countryside of Edale and Hayfield in the Peak District.
A few of us – 165,095, in England and Wales, to be precise – might be doing so in the comfort of a second home, deep in the heart of Cornwall, perhaps, facing rolling green fields with not another dwelling in sight.A few of us – 165,095, in England and Wales, to be precise – might be doing so in the comfort of a second home, deep in the heart of Cornwall, perhaps, facing rolling green fields with not another dwelling in sight.
Yet, whatever the romantic view of our green and pleasant land, in fact and fiction, in our towns and cities, an all too real crisis of space and homes is already upon us.Yet, whatever the romantic view of our green and pleasant land, in fact and fiction, in our towns and cities, an all too real crisis of space and homes is already upon us.
As rents rise, mortgages are elusive and home ownership for increasing numbers of young people becomes a distant dream, the refusal to concede so much as an inch of greenfield terrain by organisations such as the National Trust appears less and less reasonable.As rents rise, mortgages are elusive and home ownership for increasing numbers of young people becomes a distant dream, the refusal to concede so much as an inch of greenfield terrain by organisations such as the National Trust appears less and less reasonable.
This weekend, for instance, Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate and current head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said that owners of second homes should be taxed so hard that they give up their rural retreats. "Townies in the countryside", he said, were "gutting" rural communities and he blamed them for helping to create the housing shortage. Plans for affordable homes were threatening the English landscape, he argued.This weekend, for instance, Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate and current head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said that owners of second homes should be taxed so hard that they give up their rural retreats. "Townies in the countryside", he said, were "gutting" rural communities and he blamed them for helping to create the housing shortage. Plans for affordable homes were threatening the English landscape, he argued.
The impact that second homes make in areas where local people born and bred can't afford to live deserves examination – but Sir Andrew's fiscal suggestion is no solution at all to the lack of affordable homes.The impact that second homes make in areas where local people born and bred can't afford to live deserves examination – but Sir Andrew's fiscal suggestion is no solution at all to the lack of affordable homes.
We face a significant housing crisis, yet appropriate action is blocked on the one hand by exaggerated sentimentalism of the sort expressed by Sir Andrew – as if Britain will become one gigantic housing estate – and the absence of an energetic, proactive, coherent government strategy on the other. Instead, we have a planning system that for all the recent reforms is still rusty and archaic.We face a significant housing crisis, yet appropriate action is blocked on the one hand by exaggerated sentimentalism of the sort expressed by Sir Andrew – as if Britain will become one gigantic housing estate – and the absence of an energetic, proactive, coherent government strategy on the other. Instead, we have a planning system that for all the recent reforms is still rusty and archaic.
We need at least 250,000 new-builds a year. Currently, only 100,000 are under construction. England alone has 62,000 hectares of brownfield sites, 750,000 empty properties and thousands of homes that require retrofitting to make them properly habitable. At the same time, builders have a land bank of 400,000 plots with planning permission but without a brick laid. Currently, it takes an average of 25 months from permission to build to completion of a home, although nine years has been known.We need at least 250,000 new-builds a year. Currently, only 100,000 are under construction. England alone has 62,000 hectares of brownfield sites, 750,000 empty properties and thousands of homes that require retrofitting to make them properly habitable. At the same time, builders have a land bank of 400,000 plots with planning permission but without a brick laid. Currently, it takes an average of 25 months from permission to build to completion of a home, although nine years has been known.
Clearly, there is much to be done – not least the application of more innovative thinking by builders, planners and policymakers alike.Clearly, there is much to be done – not least the application of more innovative thinking by builders, planners and policymakers alike.
Citizens are already displaying some ingenuity.Citizens are already displaying some ingenuity.
In today's Observer, Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, of Glandwr, Wales, who have built their own "hobbit" eco-home using local materials on family land at a cost of only £15,000, rightly say: "The whole system needs to adapt and move forward into the 21st century. We need more homes that reduce the impact on the planet … it's all about working with nature, not against it."In today's Observer, Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, of Glandwr, Wales, who have built their own "hobbit" eco-home using local materials on family land at a cost of only £15,000, rightly say: "The whole system needs to adapt and move forward into the 21st century. We need more homes that reduce the impact on the planet … it's all about working with nature, not against it."
They may have to demolish their home because they failed to obtain planning permission. Common sense should prevail. Nature matters – but so too does a roof over peoples' heads. The issue is surely one of balance.They may have to demolish their home because they failed to obtain planning permission. Common sense should prevail. Nature matters – but so too does a roof over peoples' heads. The issue is surely one of balance.
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