This council building in Kidbrooke Estate, is one of the many under extensive construction in the metropolis.
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In 2024 , the Labour Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes was received with wholesale support from a population suffering at the hands of a housing crisis that has seen prices and rents skyrocket in recent years.
However, is increasing housing stock the way to solve the supply and demand problem?
Dr Anna Pagani, senior lecturer in the department of engineering at King’s College London, has led a report that calls for a halt to all house building projects in the UK.
She explains that building fewer houses might actually lead to better home provision:
“The question is always like, ‘I see the iceberg, I’m going to react. I’m going to respond by building more social homes.’
But often in housing associations this means deviating resources from maintenance, repair, the provision of good quality social homes.”
Housing associations may have issues with funding distribution:
“In order for a housing association to entirely retrofit an existing build, (…) they need to get the funding from somewhere else because there is no government support.
She explains the disparity with some benefitting from a retrofitted social estate and others experiencing:
“demolition, displacement (…) and there’s going to be massive densification”
A council housing tenant, Kzhia Smith, has been fighting her own battles with the quality of her council housing. Ms Smith has developed respiratory issues due to living near extensive construction and poorly serviced ventilators. Describing her symptoms, she says:
“I was carrying this roll of tissue around with me and it started to get worse and worse for a few months (…) my nasal passages swelled up so much that an ENT said you couldn’t even get a camera up there.”
She said she made a statement form after realizing a pattern:
“It’s obviously great that they’re building more council housing but if the people that are already at these council houses are suffering and they don’t even want to live there anymore because they’re having health decline, it just seems pointless.”
If the boom and bust cycle of building and demolishing homes to fund further projects is not benefitting the quality or price of housing, is it time to take a new approach?
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Standfirst
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HeadlineIs extensive house-building solving the housing crisis?
Short HeadlineStudy calls for 'halt' to extensive house-building in London
StandfirstCity News spoke to Londoners criticizing mass house-building as an imperfect solution to the housing crisis.
In 2024 , the Labour Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes was received with wholesale support from a population suffering at the hands of a housing crisis that has seen prices and rents skyrocket in recent years.
However, is increasing housing stock the way to solve the supply and demand problem?
Dr Anna Pagani, senior lecturer in the department of engineering at King’s College London, has led a report that calls for a halt to all house building projects in the UK.
She explains that building fewer houses might actually lead to better home provision:
“The question is always like, ‘I see the iceberg, I’m going to react. I’m going to respond by building more social homes.’
But often in housing associations this means deviating resources from maintenance, repair, the provision of good quality social homes.”
Housing associations may have issues with funding distribution:
“In order for a housing association to entirely retrofit an existing build, (…) they need to get the funding from somewhere else because there is no government support.
She explains the disparity with some benefitting from a retrofitted social estate and others experiencing:
“demolition, displacement (…) and there’s going to be massive densification”
A council housing tenant, Kzhia Smith, has been fighting her own battles with the quality of her council housing. Ms Smith has developed respiratory issues due to living near extensive construction and poorly serviced ventilators. Describing her symptoms, she says:
“I was carrying this roll of tissue around with me and it started to get worse and worse for a few months (…) my nasal passages swelled up so much that an ENT said you couldn’t even get a camera up there.”
She said she made a statement form after realizing a pattern:
“It’s obviously great that they’re building more council housing but if the people that are already at these council houses are suffering and they don’t even want to live there anymore because they’re having health decline, it just seems pointless.”
If the boom and bust cycle of building and demolishing homes to fund further projects is not benefitting the quality or price of housing, is it time to take a new approach?
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