Following his return as Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove has reaffirmed his commitment to a manifesto pledge to build 300,000 new homes per year by the middle of the decade.
Former prime minister Liz Truss has been clear in her intention to abandon “Whitehall-inspired Stalinist housing targets” in favour of tax cuts and deregulation for homebuilders.
Gove, however, told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show that he was committed to the ambitious target.
“The top-down housing targets that […] Liz was referring to are part of a broader and different calculation from the 300,000 in the manifesto,” said Gove, adding his view is that “what we do need is a fair way of allocating housing need that takes account of changes in population”.
The returning housing secretary did concede that hitting such targets would be “difficult” amid the current economic environment:
“We need to be straight with people: the cost of materials has increased because of the problems with global supply chains and also a very tight labour market means that the capacity to build those homes at the rate we want is constrained.”
What’s more, Gove also cast doubt upon Truss and Kwarteng’s “investment zones”, suggesting anything with the potential to undermine the environment is “out”.
Under the plans, businesses and developers would receive tax cuts and planning restrictions will be relaxed in an effort to attract investment in various areas across the country.
Some specific policy changes floated include the removal of restrictions on height limits, ending the requirement for affordable housing within developments, and loosening environmental rules.
Businesses would also pay no tax on investment in plant, machinery, and new buildings. There would also be no business rates paid on newly occupied or expanded premises; no national insurance paid on the first £50,000 of workers’ salaries in most cases; and no stamp duty on purchases of land or buildings for business or residential development in these zones.
However, Gove recently said he was “reviewing” Truss’ plans, saying “under no circumstances will we weaken environmental protections”.
