One million extra homes by 2020.

[Workingman]

Enough for 3 to 4 million people.

So says the government, and most of them will be "affordable" homes, whatever that means. Given the average wage outside of London and the lenders' multiplier they will have to come in at ~£175k. I cannot see many developers wanting to get involved at those prices so "affordable" becomes "pricey".

We also have a penchant for living on the ground so most of these homes will be detached or semi-detached with a few mews and town-houses thrown in. Where will the land come from? Say an average plot was 150sq/m (10x15) the total 1 million home plot size would be 150sq/km, add in the roads, pavements, verges and gardens and we are looking to double that - an area of 17.4km x 17.4km. To put that into perspective it is a square from White City to Poplar, E to W, and from Tottenham to Dulwich, N to S.

If the population keeps rising we will have to start all over again in 2020 - 2025.

[cromwell]

If the population keeps rising we will have to start all over again in 2020 - 2025.

Exactly.

It really upsets me to see more and more fields going under concrete.

The roads in my village are no wider than they were in 1971, but there is ten times more traffic on them now. The High Street through the village used to have fields on either side of it, now those fields are housing estates. The latest one is for 300+ houses. 99% of which will have cars, most more than one car so at least 300 more cars going up and down a narrow street everyday, a street in which there are three schools with another one just off it.

It's crazy and it's driven by greed. The greed of the developers for money and the greed of Wakefield council for £300,000+ in council tax.

How are we going to grow enough food for our population when we keep building on fields? Our farmers can only supply us with 62% of what we eat now.

[Suff]

Back in 2008 it was 40% imported. I'm sure that has something to do with the drop in the value of the £, the increased revenues from exports and the spin off in terms of production feeding the UK.

Which just goes to show you how stupid we are. If we allow our food production to drop below 50% it will be very difficult to ramp that up if we have a transport crisis from the main producers in the world.

In Scotland in the towns I've noticed that a lot of the old stone built business areas, where the businesses have moved out of the towns and cities, are being re-developed into 3 and 4 story apartments. High density accommodation which does not endanger the surrounding farmland so much and right in the heart of transport and quality roads. Although Scotland does have a hell of a lot of land that won't even graze sheep on, so there is not quite so much pressure. Most of England will grow food if you till it, most of Scotland won't.

[cromwell]

WM's post touched a nerve with me because today I took my car into the local garage and to get there I had to use the High Street at school dropping off time. Blimey. Cars parked everywhere, right up to crossing places, on pavements, blocking people's drives, traffic all choked up; and they are adding 300 more cars to this?

Thing is too, all these new houses seem to be three or four bedroom detached, when the pressure is lower down the market for starter homes. But nobody seems to be building starter homes?

We have an ongoing development which started this year, again at the top end of the village, again three and four bed detached. They are moving the workers to another site because the houses aren't selling! And yet another developer thinks that theirs will? Oh well, time will tell I suppose.

[Workingman]

Cromwell, I read the other day that six primary schools in Edinburgh are to have parking bans around them for 1 hour at opening and closing times. That has to be better than the blanket 20 MPH limits operating all day, every day, even weekends.

Suff, when I stayed in Paris it was at Balard, Boulevard Victor, just inside the peripherique. All the ground floor units were shops, cafes and restaurants, the upper floors were apartments. It was the same wherever I walked. In Leeds those floors are empty, store rooms or general dumping grounds. Countrywide that is loads of potential living units going to waste.

[Suff]

Absolutely WM, it's the same all over the EU. If the government wants to legislate this is the perfect place. If they don't want to manage the letting the get the government to set up a corporation to do the letting for them and manage the lets and the quality of the homes. I'm sure that once the apartments start getting damaged the owners would then find the time and effort to do the letting.

It was always this way, city centres were full of housing. Now they are empty but it's perfect for people who work in the city and don't have a vehicle.

I doubt I'll see it though. Unless the government starts charging taxes as though the rooms were let...

[TheOstrich]

Most of the new city centre housing built in Birmingham before the crash - apartment flats and suites - was bought up by property investors and the last I heard, many remained empty because the rents were unaffordable. Maybe we need to control who can actually buy new housing accomodation ......

Meanwhile, they seem to be pushing ahead with plans for 6,000 houses on the greenbelt within a mile of us, despite vociferous local opposition and Mr Plebgate threatening a House of Commons debate (a bit rich as it's the Tories who are promulgating this housing rush). Now I don't expect many of these new houses are going to be 1 or 2 bedroom starter homes, somehow. And let's not forget that the (tenanted) greenbelt land in question, currently wheat crop, is also owned by property developers who are agitating behind the scenes for the building to commence ....

[Workingman]

Tim Farron, LibDem leader, says he wants to take in 200,000 refugees and up the building programme to 300,000 units per year - a 50% increase on the governments target. The plot size has now grown to a new London of the area inside the North and South circular roads. Where will this nonsense end?

[cromwell]

And after damp-eyed Tim has taken in 200,000 you can times that by x4 minimum, because all their dear old mums, dads, brothers and sisters will be joining them shortly afterwards.

Where will it end? Only when people stop voting for people and parties who are all in favour of mass immigration.

[Suff]

Well, if he wants to become the fifth party in politics behind the Greens and the UKIP, then he should keep this up. Good stuff, go for it.