Whether or not our political class has the ability or the will to control immigration, we have to accept that many of the millions who have come to this country in the last two decades are here to stay, and will need to be housed. Without a massive expansion of the housing stock, prices will continue to rise and the pressure on planning laws and infrastructure will become increasingly difficult to manage. As a result we face a question that concerns every resident of Britain, and which must be addressed with true public spirit: how we should build. As the Government embarks on a programme of affordable building for first-time buyers, then, it is reassuring to note that a “design panel” of experts, including the architect Sir Terry Farrell, is being appointed to address exactly that issue.