Thousands of new homes are set to bebuilt across the region as part ofthe government's mission toend the country's housing crisis.
Labour plansto deliver1.5 million new homes in England over the next five years, which would require an average of300,000 to be completed each year - almost doublethe 152,000 built a year over the last decade.
The new government has announcedan overhaul of the planning system - setting mandatory housebuilding targets for councils backedbyplans to free up greenbeltland, which up until now had beenno-development zones.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner (Image: Jacob King/PA)
The region's leadinghousebuilders and housing providers have welcomed the plans.
BUILDING MORE HOMES
Flagship Group isthe east of England's largest social housing provider with 32,000 homes across the region.
The Norwich-basedhousing association announced earlier this year that it has merged withBromford -one of the country's biggest providers of homes - to deliver 60,000 new homes -2,000 ayear for the next 30 years.
Itaims toprovidehalf of these homes associal rentslet at around 60pcof the market value.
David Armstrong, Flagship Group'schief operating officer, said "the only way to make homeownership more attainable is by building more homes".
David Armstrong, Flagship Group'schief operating officer (Image: Flagship)
"It has been said that England is the most difficult place to find a home in the developed world, and house prices are out of reach for far too many people," he said.
"The average property price in the east of England is £404,100 – £26,900 above the national figure of £377,200. For the east, that’s 11.2 times the average income.
"In 2023/24, we delivered 743 new homes, including 464 for affordable rentand 191 for shared ownership."
READ MORE:Housing association merger will see 60,000 new homes built over next 30 years
Housingavailable at affordablerentarelet ataround 80pcof market value.
Shared ownership is a mix of buying and renting where a person buys a portion of a propertyand rents the restfrom a housing association.
It is oftena way of getting onto the housing ladder without a heftydeposit wherepeople cangradually buy the rest of their home.
REMOVINGBARRIERS FOR BUILDERS
Hopkins Homes is East Anglia's largest privately owned housebuilder.
Duncan Jackson, Hopkins Homes' managing director, said: “The government's plan to build 1.5 million homes across England is a significant step toward addressing the housing shortage that has long affected our region."
Duncan Jackson, Hopkins Homes' managing director (Image: Hopkins Homes)
However, he said housebuilders have long faced barriers in the form of difficulty with land acquisition, rising supply chain costs, and nutrient neutrality.
Nutrient neutrality relates torules in place to ensure the River Wensum and the Broads are not affected by wastewater pollutionwhich have stopped councils from being able to grant permission until mitigation measures are put in place.
"We welcome any changes to nutrient neutrality regulations that offer more practical and streamlined solutions," Mr Jackson added.
"Such changes would aid us in acquiring and developing land more efficiently, ultimately helping us deliver homes more promptly."
PLANNING OVERHAUL
The government'soverhaul of the planning systemwill set mandatory housebuilding targets for councils to help deliver 1.5 millionnew homes in Englandover the next five years.
To helpcouncils meet these targets, the government will review the green belt - land covering about 13pc of the country which was established more than 70 years agoto limit the growth of built-up areas and stop largetowns from merging into one another.
Low-quality green belt land will be freed-upto become part of a newgrey belt – land previously described by the government as“poor quality ugly areas” - to enablenew homes to be built.
Half of all dwellings built in the grey belt will be affordable homes.
However, the east is not home to any green belt land so will not be affected by the changes.
NORFOLK'S 45,000 NEWHOMES
The Greater Norwich Local Plan is a blueprint for where 45,000 new homes could be built across Norfolkbetween now and 2038.
Under the plan, these homes would be built in Norwich, Broadland and South Norfolk.
Land has beenallocated for10,000 dwellingsin Norwich. Sitesincludethe former Colman’s factory, the Deal Ground and Utilities site near Trowse – collectively known as the East Norwich Strategic Regeneration Area – where some 3,000 homes could be built.
The Greater Norwich Local Plan allocates land which could be acceptable for new homes (Image: Greater Norwich Local Plan)
Hundreds more homes are earmarked forplaces such as Rackheath, Hellesdon, Drayton, Taverham, Wymondham and Thorpe St Andrew.
BOOST FOR HOMEOWNERS
Interest rates were cut for the first time in more than four years last week.
The Bank of England lowered ratesto 5pc from5.25pc - the first dropsince the startof the pandemic in March 2020 having hita 16-year high.
Source: Bank of England (Image: Bank of England)
Interest rates dictate the cost of borrowing set bybanks and money lenders, so the cut was welcomed by homeowners who have suffered rising mortgage payments.
The Bank forecasts that inflation will increase to about 2.75pclater this year, before returning to its 2pctarget next year.
READ MORE: Small businesses welcome 'desperately needed' interest rates cut
The Bank of England has cut interest ratesto 5pc from5.25pc (Image: John Walton/PA)
House prices in the UK rose more than expected last month, according to figures from building societyNationwide.
Prices increasedby 2.1pc year on year in July - a monthly rise of 0.3pc.
However, first-time buyersare currently spending about 37pcof their take-home pay on mortgage payments, according to Nationwide.
