Sir Keir Starmer vows to unleash a home building bonanza on ‘ugly’ green spaces
SIR Keir Starmer has vowed to unleash a home building bonanza on “ugly” green spaces.
The Labour leader pledged to back 1.5million homes over five years — with at least half being affordable.
He set out “five golden rules” including prioritising building them on brownfield land, followed by poor quality areas of “greyfield” greenbelt.
Housing developments will have to be accompanied by boosts to public services and infrastructure — including schools and health centres.
Labour would allow construction on undamaged green spaces — if it comes with improvements to existing natural spaces.
Sir Keir said: “The Tories’ housing emergency has left millions unable to plan their lives, start families, or build a future for themselves and their kids.
“We’ll prioritise ugly, disused grey belt land, and set tough new conditions for releasing that land.
“Our golden rules will also ensure any grey belt development delivers affordable homes, new infrastructure and improved green spaces.
“We will get tough on the blockers to back hard-working aspirational Brits, deliver the homes and local services that communities deserve, all while protecting access to genuine green space.”
Deputy leader Angela Rayner added: “Labour has a plan for smarter Green Belt release, underpinned by strong rules to tackle the housing emergency and build the homes we need.
“When we build on the Grey Belt, our promise is that more houses means more schools, doctors and green spaces families can use.”