Government Statement on Housing Reform
21st November 2011
Responding to a statement on the Government's new housing strategy, Anne Main raises concerns that by concentrating on new house building it will not help an area like St Albans which is ringed by green belt and where many starter homes are old period properties.
Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con): I welcome much in my right hon. Friend’s statement, but I have concerns about how the indemnity scheme will work. In an area such as St Albans, which is ringed by green belt, which does not have shovel-ready sites but which does have high house prices, what hope can he give to constituents of mine who would like to access the starter homes that are old period houses? We will not build loads of brand-new starter homes in an area such as St Albans.
Grant Shapps: My hon. Friend and I share a boundary between St Albans and Hatfield. That area used to be an aerospace site and is now available for quite a lot of house building, but that aside—I make no apology for this—we consider it important that we focus our efforts on building new homes. Every home built supports two jobs, which is important for employment and gross domestic product growth. We are therefore focusing on new homes, not just for first-time buyers but for anybody who wants to buy a new home.
