The Conservative party is facing accusations of borrowing a housing policy from the Labour party to make up for their inadequate progress in housing development.
This week, the government revealed its intention to empower local authorities to purchase land at lower prices by eliminating the need to account for ‘hope value’—the expected future value of land if it were developed—under certain conditions, with the aim of facilitating the construction of affordable and social housing.
This alteration is designed to reduce the extra costs of land acquisition, thereby accelerating the acquisition and development process by local councils.
This approach resembles a commitment made by the Labour party last year, which promised they would get rid of hope value in the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process should they win the next general election.
Brian Berry from the Federation of Master Builders described this move as the Conservative’s adoption of Labour’s policy to address their lack of success in providing housing, highlighting it as an attempt to create favorable policy initiatives in light of a disappointing record in delivering affordable homes.
He expressed concerns over the potential impact on land prices, especially in areas where the market is already experiencing decreasing or static prices, and questioned whether this could further affect local house prices.
Ian Fletcher of the British Property Federation commented that CPOs are already the subject of significant dispute and that removing hope value could amplify these disputes.
He explained that perspectives on this policy change would depend on whether one agrees with the principle established or if there is concern over the implications for property rights.
