Gordon Brown's target of three million new homes by 2020 looks in deep trouble. Brown was relying not on public investment but rather private capital to build a sea of new houses across Britain.
At the very outset much of this was wishful thinking. The homes that are needed are social housing for those in society left behind by the rush to buy. However these are the homes that millionaire development companies don't want to build. Social housing is seen as 'poor people's' housing. Even with pathfinder less than 20% have been allocated for social housing but there is no legal obligation on developers turning around and snubbing councils so that they can maximise profit.
Gordon Brown's three million homes was based on private sector finance and building. In the past Labour Governments have realised that the private sector, interested in profit, can't be directed to build for social need. So Labour's previous strategy was to build council houses for people who could afford the rent. Only relatively recently, since Thatcher sold off much needed social housing, has the council house been seen as a place for "difficult" tennants and those on benefit.
Labour had the opportunity of re-inventing the council house for hard working families excluded from the housing ladder but has failed. The other possibility was to get empty homes re-furbished and rennovated for families to rent. The pathfinder housing renewal programme could have done that but because it relied on leveraging development money out of the private sector it had to demolish so that millionaire developers could build new properties for sale.
Saving bankers seems to have become more important than housing the estimated five million people who dont have a permanent home. Providing developers with profit seems more important than preserving the unique character of Saltwell and Bensham.
No wonder Brown is miles off target!
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