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| 'Time to end the blight of poor UK housing' – groundbreaking national inquiry calls for UK housing revolution 300,000 desperately needed extra homes could be built in the UK every year without an extra penny of Government spending or debt if the dysfunctional way we build homes is radically overhauled according to the findings of a radical new report released on October 26, 2012 by the Future Homes Commission (FHC). The UK can be propelled out of recession, institutional and international investment encouraged, tens of thousands of new jobs generated and the chronic shortage of quality housing solved by a major overhaul of the way we fund, build and market new housing development, the Future Homes Commission has concluded. The Commission's recommendations are wide ranging, but place strong emphasis on the leadership role of Local Authorities in securing the necessary local rental housing developments on behalf of their local taxpayers by pooling their assets to provide local communities with better homes. The Future Homes Commission's report, delivered by an independent group of experts led by British business leader Sir John Banham, concludes a year-long detailed inquiry, the first ever national comprehensive consultation considering the state of UK housing and the opportunities that are waiting to be exploited. The Commission has surveyed public opinion, sought evidence from experts in the field of housing and commissioned research to identify consumers' needs and how more and better homes are built. Thousands of new communities need to be built and their quality will be imperative to their future success, and the economic success of the country. The Future Homes Commission's ground-breaking report 'Building the Homes and Communities Britain Needs' details the housing revolution that is necessary and calls for five major changes that will lead to a radical improvement in UK housing: 1. A three-fold increase in the number of new homes being built every year (from the current 100,000 to over 300,000) on brownfield land and land close to virtually every city, town and village, this can be achieved by - 2. The setting up of an independently managed £10 billion Local Housing Development Fund, to kick start the effort to build new mixed tenure communities. The fund would be financed by the largest Local Authority pension funds pooling 15% of their assets to invest in rental and shared-ownership housing. The fund would be owned by the contributing pension funds. 3. A greater focus on design in all new homes, ensuring they meet current residents' needs, making them fit for future generations, and thus attractive to UK and international institutional investors so that Local Authority pension funds can recycle their investment once a community has been established 4. A more consumer-oriented housing market, with reliable, comprehensive information available to people when making the most important financial decisions of their lives 5. A lead role for local councils, using the new powers now at their disposal to lead the creation of sustainable communities to meet local housing needs and ensure a decent return of their investments. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |