Shepway District Council has announced proposals to submit a bid to the government for support to create a new ‘garden town’ on the land surrounding Otterpool Park Farm, close to the south side of junction 11 of the M20. The council has my full support in its decision to launch this debate, but it is […]
House building has rebounded since the end of the financial crisis; but to meet the challenge of drastically increasing the size and quality of our housing stock we will have to go further still. The Housing and Planning Bill making its way through parliament has the clear ambition of increasing the supply of homes in […]
Improving the number and quality of new houses is one of the most important challenges we face. If we are going to meet the government’s target of building 200,000 new properties a year, radical new ways of designing and delivering new homes will be required. Great progress has been made since the recession to increase […]
On Monday this week I spoke in the debate in the House of Commons on the Housing and Planning Bill, which has been introduced by the government to improve the supply of affordable homes to rent and buy, as well as giving councils new powers to tackle rogue landlords. You can read my full speech […]
Yesterday the Prime Minister unveiled the Conservative Party's manifesto with a positive message, telling voters: "we are on the brink of something special in our country. The next five years are about turning the good news in our economy into a good life for you and your family." Included in the manifesto were a number […]
Below I outline how the Help to Buy Scheme works to support first time buyers and boost manufacturing. The way the Help to Buy scheme works is that you can borrow money from the Government towards your deposit. The Government will loan you 20% of the value of the property you want to buy, but […]
George Osborne recently announced the positive news of improved economic growth and employment. Our long term economic plan is helping to restore growth and stability, but there is more we need to do to secure the recovery. In his budget there were a variety of proposals which affect all us of differently, so below I […]
Building and refurbishing more good quality homes to rent and buy, at all price levels, has to be one of our top priorities. We need more homes in the Shepway area to meet local demand, and this pressure will only grow with so many people currently looking to move into the district. The high speed […]
Romney Marsh has traditionally been regarded as one of the more high risk flood areas in the country. In the past this had made it harder for people to get home insurance, although a number of local firms who have a good understanding of the risk levels have helped many residents to solve this problem. […]
The new 'Help to Buy' scheme announced today will make owning a new home a possibility for the many people who are currently unable to move or buy a place of their own because the deposit required is too large for them to afford. High house prices mean that people currently have to try to […]