Urban Spaceman

  UPDATE : It is widely recognised that housing in South East England is too expensive and we are failing to bring forward enough land for development. Recently, there have been some political baby steps towards a regime that will allow public agencies to acquire the necessary land at something close to its value in its current use, rather than being held to ransom by landowners greedy for an unearned windfall. But until we see some results, the general argument remains relevant ...... Do you want a break from the wind and rain-lashed countryside hereabouts, preferably somewhere with more than the bleak view of bare street trees from your living room window? Transform yourself, shut your eyes and think of Point Gourde, a small but perfectly formed peninsula in Trinidad, an emerald in a sapphire sea, with a neat yacht harbour at Coral Cove. Amazingly, this sleepy, sunny little corner of the world played a role in creating our housing shortage here in Southern England. I refer, of co...

  The government aims to increase housebuilding in the hope that this will improve affordability. In the long term, they might be right, but  I doubt it. I n the short term, the terms on which mortgage finance is obtainable might be more important, and the Government are now looking at this. However, in any case, the supply of suitable land is a concern. My intention here is to illustrate the extent to which the increase in land values consequent on high house prices mainly benefits landowners, when it could be used to improve the supply of affordable housing.  The key distinction here is the difference between the value of the land in its current use and its potential value if redeveloped for housing. The increase is often enormous, and obtaining planning permission is the key to unlocking it.  If a site has already been zoned for housing in the Local Plan, development is effectively agreed in principle, so what remains is haggling over detail, and the sale agreemen...