Developers are carving up our countryside to build homes normal families can’t even afford No one can escape the housing crisis gripping Britain. Whether you are struggling to pay the rent, stuck on a […]

No one can escape the housing crisis gripping Britain. Whether you are struggling to pay the rent, stuck on a waiting list for social housing, unable to meet the deposit for your first place or supporting friends and family who fall into any of the above. The most basic need for somewhere safe and secure to call home is getting harder and harder to meet.

As the crisis deepens, people across Britain are becoming more aware of the need to create more homes in more imaginative places and ways. With a shortfall of homes of four million, there are warnings England must build 340,000 homes a year. But while supply is crucial it’s clear we won’t solve the housing crisis with the same thinking that created it. There is also a huge issue of affordability which won’t simply be addressed with more building – as housing is treated as a speculative commodity rather than a place to create a home and build a life.

The Government is letting them get away with it

For this reason it was bitterly disappointing to hear news that the number of applications to build homes on protected Green Belt land rose last year to a record 460,000. To make matters worse, the research by Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) found that less than one-third of homes built or approved on greenfield land since 2009 met the Government’s own definition for ‘affordable housing’. Developers are carving up our countryside to build homes normal families can’t even afford – and the Government is letting them get away with it.

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‘Meanwhile taking action on empty homes could bring the estimated 205,293 vacant properties back into use.’

Green spaces are not just about preserving precious ecosystems. They are the lungs of the country. They provide a place for people to get away from city living, to go for a walk with friends or just spend some time in nature.

The Green Belt covers 12.5 per cent of England and hosts one-fifth of England’s public footpaths. Building on this land not only robs us of a precious natural asset, but it will also never solve the housing crisis. It’s time Ministers gave this land the real protection it deserves.

Instead of overseeing the erosion of our green space, the Government could be taking bold action to create the truly affordable homes we so desperately need. The same research by CPRE found that local authorities with Green Belt land also have enough brownfield land for over 720,000 homes. Meanwhile taking action on empty homes could bring the estimated 205,293 vacant properties back into use.

Land Value Tax

But with figures showing that in 2015 Britain’s biggest housebuilders had enough land to create more than 600,000 new homes, there is one policy for which the time has come. The Green Party has long championed a land value tax (LVT) to encourage the use of vacant land and reduce speculation.

The current out of date council tax system rewards wealthy land and homeowners. Last year the most expensive house in the country sold for just shy of a massive £16 million. The cheapest went for £18,500. Yet the difference between what those two new homeowner’s pay in council tax is just £250.

Unlike the current council tax system, which bills residents according to the size of their property, LVT recognises that it is the land that is at the heart of the problem – and taxes it accordingly. Factors like good transport links, decent local schools or access to green space all influence land’s value and would be taken into consideration. Under this scheme rocketing land value due to changes in the area would be captured and put back into the local community. Paid by landowners, LVT would encourage developers sitting on prime urban land as they wait for property prices to rise to build or sell.

Countries like Denmark are already exploring how LVT could work. It’s time the Government stopped looking to the solutions of the past to solve the housing crisis, and embraced the bold policies which will take us into a future where everyone has somewhere safe and secure to call home.

Jonathan Bartley is co-leader of the Green Party