Politicians have a great ability to ignore the obvious, especially when it is inconvenient.

It is clear that even a ten-year-old could figure out that, if we want to solve the ‘housing crisis’ then we have to make more land available.

All parties accuse developers of ‘land hoarding’ – as if? Is Tesco hoarding baked beans? Is B&Q boarding bricks?

But there is land hoarding going on aplenty.

So here’s a simple idea; trawl through the records of councils and local authorities across the country and sell the surplus land they don’t use.

Many are holding back land for industrial development that will never occur. The chances of Bill Gates pitching up to build a new world HQ in the Shetlands is remote. And it is equally remote in many councils in London and the South-East. Why don’t councils use this land for housing? I’d be surprised if many even knew it existed, let alone that they were the owners of it.

Why on earth do local authorities in the United Kingdom own 407 golf courses or 174 hotels?

And what is Bradford Metropolitan District Council doing with a car showroom? Or South Ayrshire Council, which owns an aviary and a castle?

The solution is simple. Sell off these bits of land to developers, raising significant amounts of money in the process. The developers, or even the council itself, can then use this land to build enough houses which would increase supply and even reduce prices, helping greater numbers onto the property ladder.

So we have more houses at lower prices and the councils get loads of money.

Everyone wins…at least in theory…

Have a good weekend,

Tom

Lee Saywack from Dominvs Group said: “We are very pleased with the planning consent granted for our next boutique hotel overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral.  Curtin&Co provided a valuable insight into the politics of the City of London and worked with members to ensure that we got the best result for this important site.”