The coalition government’s planning minister says that an area twice the size of Greater London needs to be built to solve the country’s housing crisis.
In an interview with BBC’s Newsnight due to be aired later Wednesday, Nick Boles warned “if people want to have housing for their kids they have got to accept we need to build more on some open land.
“In the UK and England at the moment we’ve got about 9 percent of land developed. All we need to do is build on another 2-3 percent of land and we’ll have solved a housing problem.”
This would be equivalent to a 1,510 square-mile increase, twice the area covered by Greater London.
Tory minister Boles vowed to protect the countryside but stressed that development was essential for future generations and dismissed the concerns of “nimbys”.
“We’re going to protect the green belt, but if people want to have housing for their kids they have got to accept we need to build more on some open land,” he said.
“I accept we haven’t been able to persuade them. I think it would be easier if we could persuade them that the new development would be beautiful.
“The built environment can be more beautiful than nature and we shouldn’t obsess about the fact that the only landscapes that are beautiful are open – sometimes buildings are better,” he added.
Minister calls for radical housing increase
