Andy Burnham has outlined ambitious proposals for a large-scale council housebuilding programme, which he described as a crucial step towards resolving Britain's ongoing housing crisis. Speaking in Manchester, Mr Burnham characterised the initiative as the most significant council housebuilding drive since the period immediately following the Second World War. A central aim of the plan is to lessen the country's dependence on the private rental sector and to create more affordable housing options for a substantial number of people currently on waiting lists.
Mr Burnham highlighted that approximately 1.5 million council homes have been lost across Britain since the 1980s, a figure that mirrors the current number of individuals awaiting housing. He argued that current strategies, such as freezing Local Housing Allowance, often lead to increased homelessness and place an unfunded burden on local councils, which must then provide temporary accommodation. To mitigate construction costs, the programme intends to leverage vacant public land, with delivery managed through devolved regions and local authorities rather than central government departments.
Beyond new builds, the proposals also advocate for higher density residential developments within town centres. This approach is designed to both increase footfall on high streets, thereby boosting local economies, and safeguard green spaces from further development. However, a significant aspect of the plan, the detailed mechanisms for funding this extensive programme, has yet to be disclosed, raising questions among industry observers.
Industry responses have been mixed, with a general welcome for a housing-focused policy, but also calls for clarity and a broader approach. Nathan Emerson, Chief Executive of Propertymark, stressed the importance of continued investment across social housing, private ownership, and the private rented sector to meet the government's target of 1.5 million affordable and sustainable homes in England by 2029. Heather Powell, a Partner at Blick Rothenberg, specifically questioned the funding sources and whether new council homes would be protected from 'Right to Buy' schemes, which historically have not seen proceeds fully reinvested into replacement housing stock.
Olly Cheng, Financial Planning Divisional Lead at Rathbones, noted that while the speech demonstrated ambition, financial markets would be closely scrutinising how such plans could be funded within the current tight fiscal constraints. Public finances, he observed, currently offer limited headroom for significant additional spending. This fiscal consideration, coupled with the need to address a viability crisis that has stalled building activity across the country, presents considerable challenges for the proposed programme's successful implementation.