Compensate nimbys to build on green belt, poll suggests

Nearly half of people back building on the Metropolitan green belt if local residents get to share in the profits, new polling suggests.

Some 43 per cent of the general public would support the Government buying up the protected land around London for development if some of the takings are funnelled back into the community, according to a survey for the Adam Smith Institute think tank.

And 32 per cent would specifically back the construction of new homes on green belt land if “local residents are properly compensated”.

It indicates that cash incentives could be a powerful tool when it comes to addressing the housing crisis. Asked in general terms if they supported building more homes on the green belt, with no mention of a financial sweetener, just 25 per cent of people said they were in favour.

It comes as pressure is mounting on Rishi Sunak from within his own party to ramp up development on the protected land. Last month, senior Conservatives urged the Prime Minister to build four million homes on the green belt, arguing it could raise almost £1 trillion for the Treasury.

Sir Brandon Lewis, Sir Jake Berry and Sir Robert Buckland, all of whom served under Boris Johnson, backed the Adam Smith Institute’s calls to use compulsory purchase orders to buy up land in metropolitan areas.

Shares issued to landowners, local residents, councils and central government could then be traded on the stock market.

The Adam Smith Institute says developing this land as part of a “homes for all” scheme could increase the value of shares by a factor of 15, enabling the construction of 3.8 million new homes and raising £938 billion for the public purse in the next decade and a half.

The newly-released poll, carried out by JL Partners in August, found that more than three quarters of the general public believe there is a national housing crisis, while more than half think there is a critical issue in their own community. Mortgage holders are slightly less inclined to agree on both counts.

Some 53 per cent of people said there is not enough affordable housing in their area, compared to just 27 per cent who think the balance is about right, and 11 per cent who believe there is too much.

People are keen to see more homes built in general, with 70 per cent in favour and just 15 per cent against.

But support drops significantly – to 53 per cent – when people are confronted with the prospect of extra housing in their local area.

Lack of affordable homes

Sir Brandon, a patron of the Adam Smith Institute, said the survey exposed the “salience of the housing crisis”, warning more must be done to alleviate concerns about a lack of affordable homes.

He said: “Housing is a complicated issue. But by showing how we can garner support for new housing, whether it be through improved infrastructure or giving local people a share in the profits, the Adam Smith Institute points the way to the delivery of the homes we need.”

It comes as the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), a centre-right think tank, has warned that a rise in people coming to Britain is fuelling a “cavernous” housing deficit.

It said that migration has increased the UK population by 1.2 million people in just two years – equivalent to a city the size of Birmingham.

Considering England’s likely share of the net migration figure, the CPS found the country should be building 515,000 new homes each year – more than 73 per cent higher than the official target.

Deputy research director Karl Williams said: “These figures highlight the historic rise in net migration and the failure of successive governments in tackling the housing crisis.

“Not only are we not building enough homes to meet demand from people already living in the UK, we are not even properly taking into account the needs of new arrivals.

“The Government needs to get a grip on the immigration system to deliver the control it promised at the last election and do more to encourage house building – greenfield and brownfield, urban and rural, north and south – otherwise a growing portion of the population will find themselves locked out of home ownership by our cavernous housing deficit.”