Daniel Zeichner MP Standing up for Cambridge
Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, has criticised the Housing Secretary’s plans to force councils to build more houses as “empty and flawed”, and at odds with the Cambridgeshire Mayor’s policy aspirations.
Sajid Javid MP, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, today gave a statement to the House of Commons, telling MPs that he plans to force local authorities to build in areas of large unmet housing need. He has warned that councils could be stripped of planning powers if not enough homes are being built in their areas.
Mr Zeichner asked the Housing Secretary: “Unlocking Land Value could play an important role in securing future developments, but the Secretary of State has previously only referred to a consultatiion. Could he tell us whether he supports a Land Value Capture system, and when we might expect to see one? “
Sajid Javid responded: “What I support, is making sure that the State does capture some of the value of the increase in land value once it receives planning permission. We do that currently through developer contributions, through CIL, through Section 106 and other agreements. So I want to make sure what we’ve currently got in place is working well.”
Mr Zeichner commented: “Sajid Javid’s policies are too little, too late, and do not reflect the importance that Cambridgeshire Mayor James Palmer has given to achieving a land value capture system. The demands on developers reflect a version of Ed Miliband’s offer in 2015. While I am glad that the Tories are using Labour policy, three further years of Conservative cuts have exacerbated the housing crisis since then. It’s disappointing that he isn’t more ambitious about using Land Value Capture effectively -; a policy the Cambridgeshire mayor tells us is essential .”