Voters have spoken, now let's get building

Chambers of Commerce and Initiatives are never aligned to any particular political party and therefore we simply work as best we can with whichever Government comes out on top at the ballot box.

However, one thing that business does prefer is a clear cut result, which provides greater certainty about how things are likely to go, by consulting the manifesto upon which the winner stood. We certainly now have clarity about both national and local government, with the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats respectively, governing with very substantial majorities, which should allow them to deliver the programmes they have previously set out.

It was interesting to see the new Chancellor come racing straight out of the blocks to talk about the subject of national housing supply, a topic our members regularly bring up as being an obstacle to sustainable economic growth. She mentioned some ambitious targets and suggested whole new towns or substantial urban extensions would be required.

It remains to be seen how that plays out in our area, though her announcement was timely as it came just before a Housing Summit, run by Curo and Bath and North East Somerset Council, which brought together people from a variety of sectors who were interested in the topic, with a particular emphasis on affordable housing.

Chief Executive of Curo, Victor da Cunha, set the scene with some stark figures, possibly the most shocking of which, revealed that Britain has a higher proportion of people in temporary accommodation than any other developed country in the world. Just think about that for a moment.

One time fashion designer, turned planning guru, Wayne Hemingway, was the keynote speaker and he voiced some thought provoking suggestions. One of the most controversial was his approach to controlling land values, which can sometimes stop developments from taking place at all and when they do happen, ensure the final prices of the homes are usually far from affordable.

He came up with the idea that there should be a limit on the uplift in the value of agricultural land when permission was given for house building. That particular idea may not gain much traction with landowners, but it was an example of the kind of fresh thinking that is much needed, especially as all these conversations are always held against the backdrop of World Heritage Status, which brings its own special challenges.

Despite that, Councillor Matthew McCabe reminded participants that we should be thinking about what legacy we will leave to future generations. It’s an interesting challenge. How about something iconic with a real “wow” factor – anyone for a Sydney style Opera House ?