Public sector land given to housebuilding drive
Up to 200,000 new homes could be built in Britain this year under a range of government schemes including releasing public sector land for development, finance minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday.
Regeneration agency English Partnerships has bought about 100 surplus sites from the National Health Service and is looking at another 700 or more, such as land owned by the Ministry of Defence and sites near London railway stations.
The government wants affordable properties built on this land, a new part of its drive to help more people gain a foothold on Britain's high-price property ladder.
The scheme dovetails with a shared ownership plan Brown announced last weekend to help up to 100,000 first-time buyers, currently priced out of the market.
"This is a bold housing initiative that is going to give hope to people wanting to buy their homes for the first time, making it possible for people to afford something they would not otherwise be able to afford," Brown said.
The government plans to build more homes on less land, focusing on brownfield, or formerly developed, sites.
"This year, for the first time in 15 years, we believe that 200,000 more houses should be available," Brown said.
Under the shared equity plan, first trailed before this month's election, couples unable to afford mortgage repayments on a first home would buy 50 or 75 percent of a property, with the remaining share being held by the government and lender.
This would mean couples would only have to make mortgage payments on their share of the home.
The scheme is an extension of an existing scheme aimed at helping key workers -- such as teachers and nurses -- buy properties in the expensive southeast of England.
The average house now costs more than 160,000 pounds and prices are far higher in some parts of the country.
Brown has already raised the threshold on which a property purchase tax, stamp duty is payable, and planning procedures are being streamlined.
Critics say the government's drive risks distorting an already overheated market.
Source: Reuters, 25.05.2005
