Tim Farron asks Chancellor to change planning law to build ‘genuinely affordable’ housing in Cumbria

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, local MP Tim Farron challenged the Chancellor of the Exchequer to change planning rules so that developers have to build social housing in Cumbria.

According to data from Experian, an annual income is required of £71,011 to purchase a home of average property value on the open market in Westmorland and Furness - however only 13% of households have an annual income of more than £70,000.

Meanwhile, more than 8,000 people are currently on Westmorland and Furness Council’s housing waiting list.

Speaking during Treasury Questions in Parliament, Tim said: “There is planning permission in this country for 900,000 properties that are as yet unbuilt, so maybe the issue is not that the planning laws are too restrictive but that they are not prescriptive enough. 

“In my constituency, the average income needed to buy the average house is £71,000 a year—11 times the average income in my communities. 

“Is it not right to ensure that, if the Chancellor changes planning law, we have to build more genuinely affordable homes in communities like ours, rather than giving developers carte blanche?”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves replied: “That cannot be an excuse, though, for blocking developments and blocking people who own land from building more homes on that land. In the end, the simple law of supply and demand means that if we are not building homes, prices will continue to be unaffordable for the hon. Gentleman’s constituents. We are not allowing builders to build carte blanche and he absolutely knows that. 

“We put the biggest investment into the affordable homes programme that has ever been seen, because it is important that the homes being built are affordable for families in his constituency and in mine. We must not just always block things, whether they be airports, housing or other infrastructure; we have got to back the builders.”