Can the government kickstart housing in the East of England?

The gap between demand and delivery of new housing is particularly acute in the East of England

It was no surprise that one of the first announcements by the new Labour government was a promise to build more homes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said a new taskforce would kickstart the stalled development of Northstowe, Cambridgeshire.

Ms Reeves also announced plans to reintroduce mandatory housebuilding targets.

Lord John Fuller, a former council leader, has warned that targets were not necessarily the answer.

The availability and affordability of housing was an issue that kept coming up on the doorsteps during the election campaign - and the problem is particularly acute in the East of England.

A recent study by the estate agent Savills concluded that the region needs to build 36,000 new homes a year to meet demand, but only 30,000 were completed.

It also named north Norfolk, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, south Essex and parts of Hertfordshire as places where the delivery of new housing was meeting less than half the local need.

A report by the East of England local government association last year found that 236,000 sites in the region, which had been given planning permission in 2022, had not been built on.

What is the solution?

There is not much extra money being made available at the moment, although the government said it will help fund 300 planning officers.

Instead ministers appear to hope that by focusing on the issue they can get plans moving.

Local councils have been asked to review their green belt boundaries and prioritise brownfield and "grey belt" land for development.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she will consider the economic benefits of any planning applications that cross her desk. The regional mayors - including Nik Johnson, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - were invited to Downing Street on Monday and asked to use their local influence to help progress any plans for housing.

Then there is the chancellor's "taskforce" to kickstart stalled housing schemes, such as the one in Northstowe where 10,000 new homes have been planned but so far only about 1,400 have been built.

Jack Abbott, the Labour MP for Ipswich, told the Politics East programme: "A taskforce alone is not a magic wand but what we've seen from the chancellor is a new focus on delivering. That is what we were elected to do."

'Mandatory targets'

The government plans to reintroduce mandatory housebuilding targets for local councils

The government, more controversially, will reintroduce mandatory housebuilding targets for local councils.

It was not clear how these would work. Those with long memories will remember the regional assembly under the last Labour government, and how many local councillors did not like the idea of a regional body deciding where homes should go.

"We've been here before and it didn't work then and I don't suppose it'll work now," says Lord John Fuller, the former leader of South Norfolk Council

"I don't have a problem with targets but they must take into account the fact that some places can't build homes because of environmental considerations, like flooding or coastal erosion"

He added that if the government was going to push for more housing, it must ensure that national agencies play a part.

Charlotte Cane, the new Liberal Democrat MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, told Politics East that any imposed targets need to be part of a wider strategic overview.

"One of our big problems in Cambridgeshire is that we don't have enough water for new homes. The other problem is that the further out you go from where people work the more they will need proper public transport.

The government is expected to give more details of its plans for housing following next week's King's Speech, which will mark the opening of the new Parliament.

BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday, 14th July at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer.

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