Housing minister says resi sector needs ‘all tenures’ to work

The UK’s housing minister has said “all tenures” of residential development will have a role to play in solving the country’s housing crisis. Speaking to EG at MIPIM, Lee Rowley, minister of state for housing, planning and building safety, said: “What I want to do is make sure I support the secretary of state’s long-term plan for housing. To make sure that in infrastructure we are pulling away all the bureaucracy, which is what is causing projects to increase in two and a half years to 4.7 years in terms of decisions. “And on the housing side, that we are building better, building in the right place and making sure people realise the importance of housing.” He added: “The reality is that where people can, people want to own their own homes and we want to be supportive of that. We want to set people free to be able to build capital for their lives in the future. But equally, we know we’ve got a challenge in making sure we have enough homes in this country. We have got to build homes of all tenures in the right places.” Rowley said regeneration is a key priority for him. “We need to make sure that [towns and cities] are changing in a way which works for people in them and resolve some of the issues that we are having in terms of making sure people have got houses, making sure high streets work again, making sure that town centres are places that people want to go.” He declined to answer questions regarding the issues he faces as housing minister, with the role changing as often as it does. When asked, he said: “Here today, that is not a question that people have been asking. What people have been asking is ‘what can the UK do in order to make sure that we’re open for business, that people want to invest in solving some of the issues that we have?’” Rowley said: “What people are telling me here [at MIPIM] today is that the UK is one of the best places still to invest in. And I want to make sure that the message is sent out loud and clear from the UK government that we are absolutely behind more investment in the country.” In a speech at the London stand, Rowley said: “We have got to show how development can make a difference in people’s lives and show people [investors] about the opportunities that we have. “It is the job of politician to go and sell that and make that case, so you people who are driving and delivering [progress] can do that. We have so much opportunity coming in the UK, and its only because of you that makes that happen.” Photo by Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock