THE WELSH Conservative Party has announced a ‘radical’ new housing programme, which it is claimed could lead to 70,000 new properties being built in Wales over the next five years.
A party spokesperson described the plans as: “a whole-market approach which recognises the need for 70,000 new properties in Wales over an Assembly term, and the scrapping of stamp duty for first-time buyers on all properties up to the value of £250,000.”
The party says it will work with house builders, social landlords, Local Councils and the private rented sector to deliver the plan.
Shadow Housing Minister Mark Isherwood AM has said the Welsh Labour Government has ‘consistently failed to meet the challenges’ posed within the housing sector, and says all other political parties in Wales “have shown no foresight, ambition or desire” to do things differently.
As part of their commitments to tackle a ‘crisis in housing’, Welsh Conservatives unveiled an ambitious five-point plan to fuel responsible housing development in the right places, offer comprehensive support to firsttime buyers and cut housing waiting lists.
The plan includes:
- Launching an ambitious programme of home-building; stimulating a wholemarket approach, recognising the need for 70,000 new properties for rent, lowcost home ownership and open market purchase over an Assembly term
- Scrapping Stamp Duty for first time buyers on all properties up to the value of £250,000, and developing low-cost home-ownership schemes, including a ‘Starter Home Cymru’ initiative to deliver below market value properties for first time buyers Releasing capital to build new social housing; protecting the ‘Right to Buy’ for tenants wanting to buy their council home; restoring the full discount and reinvesting proceeds into new social housing – increasing the number of people homed; whilst offering Housing Associations the choice to provide ‘Right to Buy’ to tenants where this would help delivery of individual housing schemes
- Reforming planning guidance to encourage building on brownfield and publicly-owned land, supporting a land for housing scheme, and developing a national register of contaminated land sites; whilst delivering a right to bid, allowing communities to bring forward community-led housing developments
- Working with social housing landlords, protecting relevant funding and targeting need; linking new and renovated housing supply to sustainable community regeneration and public health needs
- The plan’s publication comes as a new report is published outlining the extent of challenges faced by first-time buyers in Wales. Estate agents Hamptons found a single first-time buyer faces a nine-year wait to build up a deposit – emphasising the need for support with obstacles to house purchase, such as potentially prohibitive stamp duty costs.
It also follows the release of figures which show Wales is the only UK nation where housing developments fell from 2014 to 2015, emphasising the need to secure real change in Wales. Figures released by the National House Building Council in February showed that the UK averaged a 7% increase, but the figures in Wales fell by 2% – underlining Labour’s failure to meet the housing challenge.
Mr Isherwood AM said: “Housing is crucial to health, wellbeing and regeneration.
“Sadly, Wales faces a crisis in housing supply, affordability and support, which other political parties in Wales have shown no foresight, ambition or desire to deal with. Whilst progress has been made in other parts of the UK, Wales risks falling further behind.
“To secure real change in housing, the next Welsh Government must inspire a whole-market approach to developments, which recognises that Wales needs to be developing 70,000 new properties during an Assembly term – and to do so responsibly, and in the right places.
“People also need comprehensive support to get onto the housing ladder – and the scrapping of stamp duty for first-time buyers, as part of plans to make Wales the UK’s low-tax capital, would remove a major barrier to home ownership for many people.
“Labour, in Wales, has consistently failed to meet the challenges facing the housing sector and those in housing need.
“It is also vital new properties are built in the right places. From involving local communities in the planning process, to reforming guidance to encourage building on brownfield and publicly-owned land, Welsh Conservatives will responsibly meet the challenges facing the housing sector in Wales.”
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