Link to web suite |
"... Britain must learn to love a new, civilised version of urban sprawl. In return, the government must promise that the new homes will be very different to what has come before: the priority must be sustainable communities, with great design and new infrastructure. More homes must no longer mean hopelessly congested roads and GP waiting-lists for existing residents: a new system of allocating public spending according to population growth needs to be put in place.
"The other non-negotiable is that the public must be given the sort of housing that it actually wants, where it wants it. There is room for more skyscrapers in city centres, certainly, and for some densification in suburbia. Plenty of people, including older downsizers, want to live in flats. But as Nicholas Boys Smith, boss of Create Streets, has pointed out, most people dream of living in houses with their own front doors and back gardens.
"In the most recent national survey, 80 per cent wanted to live in a house, 6 per cent in a flat in a small mansion block and just 3 per cent in a large block. Even in London, many people want a much more diverse mix of new homes, with terraced houses most popular. There should be plenty of freehold options, not just leaseholds with expensive service charges."
No comments:
Post a Comment