Ben Howlett, the Member of Parliament for Bath, has used Department for Communities and Local Government Questions to praise the house building plans of B&NES’ new Conservative administrations.
In the House of Commons Chamber Ben said: “As a young person myself, I’m acutely aware of the difficulties of getting on to the property ladder.
“I’ve also been struggling to get onto the property ladder for the last 10 years due to the lack of housing that was built under the 13 years of Labour.
“Will he, therefore, join me in celebrating the work that Bath and North East Somerset Council is doing in building 7000 new homes in Bath, of which 2300 of those homes will be affordable, and thus explain how the Planning and Housing Bill will end up benefitting my local authority.”
Brandon Lewis, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, replied. He said: “Well my honourable friend makes a very good point, not least of all around his age in the House.
“But I would say to him, yes it is true I don’t think any of us in this house would argue with the fact that this country has built far too few homes for far too long.
“We are ambitious to make sure we create that and with regards to the Housing and Planning Bill, very directly, I would suggest that he looks at the starter homes programme where we will be looking to build some 200,000 homes for first time buyers at a 20% discount.”
Upon leaving the chamber, Ben to continued his praise saying: “It is fantastic that B&NES are building 7,000 new homes in Bath, following stagnated growth under previous administrations.
“I have first-hand experience of the challenges facing those trying to take their first step onto the housing ladder in Bath and I want to make it easier for other residents.
“These new homes are a great first step and it is very encouraging to hear that the Government has ambitious plans to build 200,000 starter homes for first time buyers at a 20% discount.
“This, accompanied by the introduction of Help to Buy ISAs, which will launch on 1st December, will mean more families can get onto the housing ladder and own their own home.”
