How long has the housing crisis gone on for now, for I can’t remember. That may lie to the fact that this nation was most likely in one before I was born, with the right-to-buy scheme established by Thatcher having run for fourteen years already. It all started the idea that everyone should be a homeowner, the British dream. Well, every silver lining has a cloud, which has greyed and become heavier as one does over thirty years. Several generations are forced to live under one roof in unharmonious surroundings and the existing council houses can, in some cases, be absolutely horrendous in structural and decorative terms. Land is expensive, the house prices are inflated and too inflated in a recession (for 0.2% growth in real terms is nothing), and new houses are terrible in terms of space and aesthetics, leaving only the housebuilders the one in comfort, exaggerated by the fact that no-one has the money to save for a deposit these days.
What do you think of the person who mentions that they plan to self-build their own house; rich, ambitious and rich? That would most likely be the opinion. Those people on Grand Designs building replica ‘Villa Savoyes’ in the Mendip Hills, wearing rather nice dress shirts and designer watches in the attempt to draw attention to and from his millions made in some boring industry like cardboard-box making. It’s time for a change in overall opinion of self-building by bringing it to the masses.
Of course, you’ll get those today who’ll moan about the extraordinary cost of land. I think it’s time for Government to step up to the plate, by buying huge swathes of unprotected countryside, whether they surround towns or not, and subsidise it by selling plots, of equal size and measure, slightly below market value to the potential family, couple or even a single occupant. A shortlist of designs of varying size and layout, approved by the councils, to fit into the local landscape and character of the area, could be chosen by the potential household. Whether they choose to hire contractors or actually do it themselves would be up to the household as well, giving real freedom of timeframe or management.
How would this be financed? I see no reason why a state-owned bank should be unable to give mortgages at reasonable interest rates out to a household. Of course, the Government may be required to seek exclusive deals with banks to ensure that people who perhaps are unable to buy it outright (i.e. 90% of us) would be able to register to this scheme.
However, I believe the golden question would be: what about those who may exploit this as a get-rich-quick scheme? Perhaps a contract between householder and government to ensure that they occupied the house for a certain amount of time, such as ten years. This may sound dictatorial in nature but we can have the chance to literally build communities. This is indeed the vision on both sides of the political spectrum, both under the Big Society of the Conservatives and Blue Labour, slowly gaining influence in the party, by getting associations and organisations to help each other.
I admit, it’s unbelievably radical, it will take time, there will always be people opposed to schemes like this and many other infrastructure projects (e.g. High Speed 2), but we are facing a shortage of affordable houses. It’s no good closing the doors to the many needed workers from abroad, to look after and service us mainly and sitting there with our arms folding. Let’s be pro-active and let’s achieve the Thatcherite dream of a classless society of prosperous people, by helping people help ourselves and, in the end, each other.
Before the argument on grounds of cost arises, it should be noted that public spending increased under Thatcher. But then again, personas are more powerful than the proof.
By Alexander Olive
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