East Suffolk Council could force land purchases if developers 'won't play ball', says housing lead

A Suffolk council could force land purchases to address shortages if developers 'won't play ball', a housing lead has said.

East Suffolk's housing lead, Cllr David Beavan, was prompted on Wednesday to address how the council planned to provide social housing in view of the new Government's aim to build 300,000 new homes every year.

The Government's target, Cllr Beavan said, was the equivalent of 1,000 new homes across the district, even though land supply only allowed for 900.

Part of the problem, the housing lead said, was the price of farmland once it was given planning permission for housing development.

As it stands, he suggested, a £10,000 acre of farmland could cost as much as £1 million with planning permission.

If the council could purchase this land for just £100,000, he said, a solution to the authority's housing problem could just be within reach.

Cllr Beavan said: "The landowner and builder get a reasonable profit, and we get homes that people can afford to live in.

"Everyone is happy except perhaps the property speculator, but if they won’t play ball, we can always use a Compulsory Purchase Order.

"That way we get the housing we need without losing the countryside we love."

Compulsory Purchase Orders are legal mechanisms through which councils can buy land without the consent of the owner to support the delivery of a range of development, regeneration and infrastructure projects in the public interest.

Cllr Beavan added: "We desperately need homes that people can afford to live in but not at the expense of losing the natural beauty of East Suffolk — we are between a rock and a hard place."

With a 25 per cent requirement for affordable housing, the Government's target would mean just 125 social homes a year, which he argued was 'barely a dent' on the council's waiting list, now 5,000 people strong.

Cllr Beavan said: "Maybe more supply will bring down the price of new homes, but then builders will say there is no profit for them.

"If only we could increase the proportion of affordable houses built to 50 per cent, we could solve our housing crisis with less land — what we need is a radical solution."

In the meantime, the leader said the council would continue to promote rural exception sites, with 100 per cent social rent, prioritising brownfield sites, and targeting empty homes.