Target practice

A goal is a dream with a deadline

Ever seen that sign on the roads that reminds you about your speed? The one that reads: “It’s a Limit, not a Target”? I was reminded of this looking at the numbers for the Government’s much heralded housing plans. The 1.5 million new homes that it wants to have built by the end of this Parliament. That’s four years from now. Four Autumn Statements. Four Spring Budgets. Four Easters. Four Christmases.

I’ll have a side-bet on it not being reached. On it becoming less of a target and more of a, well, limit. That’s despite the £39m announced earlier this year for affordable homes over the next 10 years.

On the plus side, this is a major boost. A Good Thing. It’s a big jump up from the last administration, it will provide a much-needed boost across the sector, and, just as important, help to provide homes for some of those who need them.

It was also welcome news for social housing landlords, so many of whom have been struggling with the finances required to actually provide homes to rent. Instead, the push over the past few years – a good few years at that – has been on providing affordable homes for purchase, and, yes, homes to rent, but in the private sector.

We won’t find out which way the government wants to jump until Homes England releases details of the new Affordable Homes Programme towards the end of the Summer.

As usual though, it’s not just about wanting to build the houses, or, even about providing the finance to do so. Someone has to build these homes. Someone has to sign off the paperwork to allow those homes to be built. Yes, there are plans a foot to increase the number of planners to help ease that backlog of applications stuck in various planning committees. Yes, there are plans and programmes galore to encourage more youngsters to enter the sector. Yes, there is government funding for Apprenticeships to help fund. But targets on new homes have been pledged before, many, many times, and never met.

It’s a start, it’s a good start, it’s a positive start, but there’s a lot of things that need to slot into place before we can be sure that such ambitious targets will be anywhere near achieved.