The pollsters are out in force on every street and in every national newspaper trying to second guess the result of the May election. Some pundits are suggesting that the nation is “on hold” until we get the result yet the other polls suggest that the electorate is ambivalent about politics and that the turn out on polling day will be the lowest recorded.
Are we really so uninterested in the future of our country and the legacy we are leaving for future generations? Personally I think not. Politicians have never been popular, yet they run our country, making decisions and shaping our future right down to whether the elderly get cold weather payments or agreeing to build enough houses for us all to live in. And that’s the current rub.
"Ideally, everyone would like to live in a house that’s big enough for them and their family, one they can get to school or work easily from and have nice neighbours and clean streets"
Ideally, everyone would like to live in a house that’s big enough for them and their family, one they can get to school or work easily from and have nice neighbours and clean streets. Not everyone can afford to live like this of course. Visit any inner city and you will find gentrified streets with elegant houses and apartments, smart street furniture and inviting cafés and bars and then right round the corner there’s a very different reality. Unkempt properties, rubbish in the street and grubby takeaways.
We know where we’d choose to live if we had the option. Can politicians deliver that choice? For those of us who are interested in the outcome of the election, asking questions to see if the political parties have formulated real policies over housing and the building of new homes is important. How will the next government meet zero-carbon targets for all new homes by 2016 for instance?
smartnewhomes.com has just launched a comprehensive online poll to find out what both homebuyers and developers really think about the housebuilding industry. We are asking if you would support new development where you live; should developers contribute to the infrastructure around these developments to benefit the whole community and do you really believe there is a shortage of new homes in the UK?
We ask these questions because if there is a change of government, the Conservatives are proposing that local communities have a greater say in what gets built and where. Will this lead to nimbyism – not in my back yard – or a greater understanding of the needs of the local neighbourhood which will be rewarded with financial incentives to say yes?
However, we are also asking the housebuilders what they think the future holds: should more ready-prepared brownfield sites be made available; are they building more family homes than apartments and what do they think about building on the green belt. We think the results, which we will publish before the election, will throw up a few surprises.
Many developers strive to create new sustainable communities or enhance existing one by improving infrastructure and providing local amenities. Planning can take years before schemes come to fruition. The new billion pound “urban community” at Llanwern has been a long time coming but some of the houses should be ready to move into by the end of the year. Located on the former Corus steel works, a classic brownfield site, 4,000 new homes, a business park and two new primary schools for 600 pupils will eventually be built over the next 20 years. Everything will be planned down to last detail, to provide a sustainable living space for generations to come.
There are many parts of the UK that are in desperate need of a makeover. Most of us have visited a seaside town with rusty piers and faded guest houses and conversely one that has had more than a lick of paint with carefully planned new properties – residential and commercial. Local authorities don’t always get it right and neither do developers but restricting development without considering its benefits or community need first is no longer acceptable.
So when the politicians come knocking at your door, ask them what their plans are for housing and most importantly what you would like to see in your neighbourhood. Your well-informed vote really will count.
See Also: Big Smart Blog (11), New Homes Market (28), Press Releases (371), Property News (6711)
Date Published: 13 April 2010
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