‘Five million new homes needed’ to cope with population boom

Predictions of a population boom in the next few years has triggered warnings that the UK will need more than five million new homes.

Experts at the Centre for Policy Studies say 5.7 million extra homes will be needed by 2036 to cope with the extra people living here.

The think-tank reveal 156,000 extra homes must be built every year to meet the demand, it is reported.

Reaction

The think tank was reacting to news that migration will add 6.1 million residents, lifting the total to above 73 million from the current 67 million according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Government says measures to reduce immigration by 300,000 a year will start within six weeks. A ban on foreign care workers bringing relatives with them will come into force on 11 March.

And from 4 April, the minimum salary for people coming on skilled worker visas will go up from £26,200 to £38,700.

For decades, we have failed to build enough new homes to meet demand.”

Karl Williams, research director at the Centre for Policy Studies (main picture), says: “Once again ONS figures illustrate the failure of successive governments to take control of immigration and tackle the housing crisis.

“For decades, we have failed to build enough new homes to meet demand from those already living in the UK, and record net migration has only exacerbated the problem,” he says.

Drop

There was an 8% drop in new build starts in the year to the end of September, official statistics revealed last week.

The total was 165,990 in England, with a 4% decrease in completions to 166,310 over the same period.

Labour has promised to reverse Housing Secretary Michael Gove’s plans to boost housing supply ‘on day one’ of a new government.

And Liberal Democrat members rejected a move by the party’s leadership to abandon a housing target of 380,000 new homes every year.