Welsh Conservatives outline plan to tackle Welsh ‘housing crisis’

Labour has presided over a “housing crisis” which has seen Wales fall behind, whilst the rest of the UK moves forward.

Welsh Conservatives will today outline ambitious plans, recognising the need to deliver 70,000 new homes over the next Assembly term to meet identified need and drive up affordability, stimulating a whole-market approach.
The plans have been warmly welcomed by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru, who say they are “delighted” with the Welsh Conservative manifesto’s approach.

The need for change in Wales is highlighted by the fact that, between 2014 and 2015, new housing in Wales fell by 2%, whilst it increased by 7% at a UK level. Wales was the only nation in the UK to go backwards in this regard.

The proposals will be discussed on a visit to an Atlantic Dwelling housing site, in Heath, Cardiff, attended by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies and Cardiff North candidate Jayne Cowan, and President of FMB Cymru Paul Tedder.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has said Wales needs to “secure real change”, and not allow Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party to make “the same mistakes all over again”.

Part of the Party’s plan includes the breaking down of barriers which restrict home ownership, including the scrapping of Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on all properties up to the value of £250,000.

The Right to Buy would also be protected, with proceeds utilised to release capital for the building of new social housing, increasing the number of people homed.

Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, said:

“Under Labour, Wales faces a housing crisis, and is falling behind as other UK nations surge forward. Clearly, we need to secure real change.

“The next Welsh Government must show far more ambition, and a willingness to work with the whole sector, recognising the need to deliver 70,000 new homes over the next Assembly term.

“The choice is clear: homes built responsibly with the Welsh Conservatives, or the Labour Party making the same mistakes all over again, with 90,000 households already on a social housing waiting list.”

Ifan Glyn, Director, Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru, said:

“The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru is delighted to see the importance of the house building sector recognised in the Welsh Conservatives’ manifesto. We are particularly pleased to see their plans for a whole-market approach to house building.

“They are the only party setting targets for house building as a whole not solely the building of affordable homes.  This approach is fundamental, not only to help people onto the housing ladder, but to ensure that enough suitable homes are available to allow people to move on from their first homes.

“The key to solving the housing crisis is to get small and medium sized construction companies building homes again.  In the Eighties, three in five houses were built by SME builders; by today it’s down to one in five.

“A whole-sector approach as championed by the Welsh Conservatives would not only lead to more homes being built but would also provide a massive boost to the wider economy. FMB Cymru is very much supportive of this approach to tackling the housing crisis.”
Mark Isherwood, candidate for North Wales and Welsh Conservative housing spokesperson, commented:

“Labour have been warned of an impending housing supply crisis for years – but have failed to act, with less than half the requirement for new housing being met.

“With housing so critical to health, wellbeing and regeneration, it is clear dealing with Labour’s crisis must be a priority for the next Welsh Government.

“We want to build more homes in the right places – involving local communities in the planning process, and reforming needlessly complex guidance to encourage building on brownfield and publicly-owned land.”

Candidate for Cardiff North Jayne Cowan added:

“Stamp Duty acts as a barrier to home ownership for many people across Cardiff, and the rest of Wales.

“As part of our fully-costed, ambitious manifesto, Welsh Conservatives would scrap Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on all properties up to the value of £250,000, and prioritise low-cost home ownership schemes, to ensure more people enjoy the security of home ownership.

“Furthermore, by protecting the Right to Buy, and reinvesting proceeds into the development of new social housing stock, we can tackle Labour’s legacy of dangerously high social housing waiting lists.”

The plan includes:

• Launching an ambitious programme of home-building; stimulating a whole-market approach, recognising the need for 70,000 new properties for rent, low-cost 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

• Working with both house builders and the private rented sector to cut unnecessary red tape, drive up standards and  deliver more homes