Ed Balls has said that plans for new towns to be created in the UK will require guarantees from the Government if they are ever to see light of day. New garden cities are also on the agenda.
Labour feels that in order for 200,000 properties to be built each year until 2020, a development strategy similar to that seen in the post-war years would need to be adopted.
This could mean that big changes are ahead for a number of areas in the UK, with builders on the Wirral and across the North West no doubt expecting increases in demand.
The Shadow Chancellor is set to lay down the gauntlet to George Osborne in order to receive backing for construction, as he has done for mortgage lending via the Help to Buy programme.
Mr Balls said:
“I have a very clear message: a Labour Treasury will make house building a priority and play its full part in delivering the scale of change we need.
“And because of the scale of the deficit we can now expect to inherit in 2015, we will need to find innovative ways of supporting private sector investment to deliver that priority.”
Balls went on to say that if development corporations can be offered guarantees, support could be given for a significant growth programme, with confidence boosted and risk reduced.
He feels that there can be no more hesitation with such a strong argument for the Chancellor to step up and back the programme.
