Campaigners wary of Brown's building vow

The prime minister Gordon Brown yesterday promised to ‘put aside anything’ that stands in the way of local authorities building social homes.

In a speech to a New Local Government Network conference Brown said councils would have the ‘necessary freedoms and flexibilities’ to build homes. But he added that ‘investment in social housing must be aligned with reform’.

Pressure group Defend Council Housing welcomed the announcement, but chair Alan Walter warned: ‘Any attempt to introduce means testing or time limits on council “secure” tenancies will be resisted.’

Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive Sarah Webb said Brown’s commitment is ‘great news’, although she added that the details of the plan will be key to its success.

‘We know that over the years many local authorities have lost the capacity and skills to develop new homes - they will need to work quickly to build on existing and forge new partnerships with housing associations, lenders and private house builders - time is of the essence,’ she said.

‘It is equally important that we do not lose or undermine the existing expertise and delivery of affordable housing by housing associations working with local government partners - remember this provided over 30,000 social homes last year. Ultimately what matters most is more, good quality homes being built for families - not the nature of the developer.’

The Liberal Democrats accused the prime minister of ‘dithering’. Housing spokeswoman Sarah Teather said: ‘The government must inject serious funds into social housing right away to buy up land and unsold projects while the market is low.’

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