News story

Laying the foundations: a housing strategy for England

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have launched 'Laying the Foundations: a housing strategy for England'.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

External site: Laying the foundations: a housing strategy for England External site: New strategy to deliver homes and strengthen the economy - news release

The housing strategy aims to strengthen the economy by breaking the current cycle in which lenders won’t lend, builders can’t build and buyers can’t buy.

The strategy details how Government will help people get on the property ladder, address unfairness in social housing and ensure homes that have been left empty for years are lived in once again.

Writing jointly in the foreword of the strategy, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister said:

This is a radical and unashamedly ambitious strategy - and it has two main aims. First, to help drive local economies and create jobs. Unblocking the market will provide a much-needed boost to employment. Second, these plans are designed to spread opportunity in our society. For too long, millions have been locked out of home ownership. We want to build an economy that works for everyone, one in which people who work hard and play by the rules can expect to own a decent home of their own. This goes right to the heart of what this Government is about.

With this strategy, we will unlock the housing market, get Britain building again, and give many more people the satisfaction and security that comes from stepping over their own threshold. These plans are ambitious - but we are determined to deliver on them.

One key element of the strategy is a new £400 million ‘Get Britain Building’ fund to get stalled house building back on the move. This fund could unlock the construction of up to 16,000 homes, including up to an estimated 3,200 new affordable homes delivered through planning obligations.

The Get Britain Building fund will boost the confidence of housing developers hit hard by the downturn and has the potential to support up to 32,000 jobs.

Over the last few years house building has reached its lowest peacetime level since 1924 - and with many developers facing problems in getting hold of development finance to build these new homes, hundreds of ‘shovel-ready’ building sites across the country have stalled.

Published 21 November 2011