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Monday 6 October 2014

Housing after the election: 100,000 new homes at 80% price... or "huge slabs of identikit housing development"

The Prime Minister has pledged 100,000 new homes from the party of home ownership:
UK's Cameron woos voters with discount starter homes | Daily Mail Online
David Cameron sets out 'discount' starter home plan for first time buyers - UK Politics - UK - The Independent
Cameron unveils 20% discounts for young first-time buyers | News | Inside Housing
Tories unveil plans for 100,000 'starter homes' | Online News | Building

And the shadow Chancellor has been making similar pledges for after the election:
Ed Balls promises to build 100,000 affordable homes with 4G windfall - Telegraph

However, the Chief Executive of English Heritage is worried what this would entail:

Beautiful market towns may be forced to triple in size to allow for 'huge slabs' of housing, says English Heritage chief

  • Simon Thurley has headed organisation for 12 years and is regularly on TV
  • Claims by next election towns like Chichester and Henley could be spoiled
  • Fears 'draconian measures' will expand towns to solve the housing crisis 
  • He believes that by sprawling out they will  in turn sacrifice historic beauty
  • Describes ‘huge identical slabs of housing’ as biggest threat facing the UK
Market towns could be forced to grow by up to three times to accommodate ‘huge slabs’ of housing, according to the chief executive of English Heritage.
Simon Thurley, who has been at the head of the organisation for 12 years, made the warning following David Cameron’s conference speech earlier this week.
He claimed that by the next election, market towns may become sprawling and sacrifice their historic beauty in order to accommodate more houses.
Simon Thurley (above), chief executive of English Heritage, has claimed market towns could be forced to triple in size to accommodate ‘huge slabs’ of housing as the government desperately tries to solve the housing crisis
Simon Thurley (above), chief executive of English Heritage, has claimed market towns could be forced to triple in size to accommodate ‘huge slabs’ of housing as the government desperately tries to solve the housing crisis
‘If we think there has been a pressure to build houses already, we have seen nothing yet,’ he said.
Mr Thurley said that, any party which came into power, would be forced to ‘put its foot on the accelerator’ using ‘draconian measures’ to expand towns in line with the current housing crisis
The comments came at the Henley Literary Festival - supported by the Daily Mail - yesterday during a talk which he gave about his new book: The Building of England.
He described the ‘huge identical slabs of housing’ as ‘the biggest and most worrying threat’ faced by Britain.
Instead of developing towns such as Chichester, Dorchester and Henley, Mr Thurley suggested that spaces above shops should be turned into home and that land occupied by car parks re-used to create new homes.

Market towns may be forced to triple in size to allow 'huge slabs' of housing, says English Heritage chief | Daily Mail Online
Market towns may be forced to treble in size - Telegraph
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