I won’t build homes without GPs

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he would not allow housing developments to be built without providing infrastructure such as GPs and schools.

He likened the current situation to the “Wild West” where “developers decide where things are going to go and the infrastructure never catches up”.

Earlier this week, Sir Keir said he would “bulldoze” through planning rules in order to build 1.5 million homes.

The Conservatives said Labour’s record on housebuilding had been “atrocious”.

Housing Minister Rachel Maclean said Labour had failed to build enough homes in places where they are in power such as London and Wales.

She also accused the party of blocking housebuilding by voting against relaxing water pollution rules.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir used his speech to Labour’s annual conference to promise to create the “next generation of new towns” near English cities.

He said he wanted to speed up building on unused urban land such as “disused car parks and dreary wasteland”.

However, during a series of interviews with BBC local radio stations he was pressed on concerns about accelerated housebuilding.

Speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio, Sir Keir said he acknowledged people’s worries, adding: “What they are saying to us… is first, they only know about developments when the diggers turn up – there is no prior opportunity for their voice to be heard.

“And secondly you’re promised a station and a GP surgery to go with the new homes and none of that turned up – those are the concerns we need to address.

“What you will not get from me is the building of houses but not the infrastructure.”

BBC Radio Devon asked the Labour leader about the issue of second homes pushing up prices in the county.

In addition to promising to build more houses, Sir Keir reiterated his party’s pledge to introduce a licensing scheme in England for people renting out their properties for short-term holiday stays. He argued that would help ensure the system was “properly controlled”.

A licensing scheme has already been set up in Scotland, while the Welsh government is planning to introduce a similar scheme.

The UK government has carried out a consultation on setting up a registration scheme for short-term lets in England, but Sir Keir said: “I get frustrated with consultations… I would move straight on to the ‘do-something-about-it’ stage.”

Labour’s plan to build 1.5 million homes in England in five years is broadly similar to the government’s aim of delivering 300,000 new units a year from the mid-2020s.

Asked on Wednesday how his proposals differed from the Conservatives, he said his commitment had been “robustly tested” adding that he would only put “bombproofed” proposals before voters at an election.

Labour has not said where or how many “new towns” it would build, saying it would run a six-month consultation inviting bids from councils.

— Reports /TrainViral/