Cash lure for home-building councils
By politics.co.uk staff
Local authorities will receive financial incentives for every new home they allow to be built, housing minister Grant Shapps has announced.
The coalition government’s enthusiasm to increase the supply of new homes in Britain has prompted it to offer to match the council tax payable on new homes for a six-year period.
Under Mr Shapps’ new homes bonus scheme councils would not be required to follow central government guidelines over “how or where to build”.
“With house building falling to its lowest level since 1924 under the previous government, action is needed now to build the homes the country needs,” he said.
“It’s why I have confirmed that those councils who go for growth by providing planning permission now will reap the rewards.
“So I urge councils to seize the moment and open up a debate with their communities now about the new homes they need and how they would use the new bonus.”
Shadow housing minister John Healey said the move would prove costly and predicted it would end up being financed through existing grants to local councils.
With essential local services paying the price, he argued, “we could quite literally see government robbing Peterborough to pay Poole”.
