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Debate House Prices
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Would someone know why...
harrup
Posts: 511 Forumite
....there are virtually no building plots available in this country?
Hi, I'm a new forum member and I've just spent several entertaining and informative hours browsing through this section of the forum.
I have lived in the UK for the past 23 years ( hubby is English) but am Austrian by birth and grew up in Switzerland. Throughout my time of living over here I've always been baffled why there is virtually is no land for sale. I mean...a considerable chunk of Austria and Switzerland are uninhabitable ( mountains! lakes! etc) and yet ...there isn't, and never has been, a shortage of building plots. Here? Seemingly not. Or if a land does get permission for building houses, the developer - which I'm not, I hasten to add - HAS to built 20 houses like rabbit hutches next to one another.
One of my neighbours - lovely lady but an ardent environmentalist/conservationist - constantly bemoans "the state of this overcrowded little island". She clearly must be seeing different things than I do. We live in the SW, in Devon, and "overcrowding" isn't the expression which leaps to mind. Not if you are cow, horse or sheep anyway. All around me is farmland. And more farmland. 2 horses graze peacefully in 3 huge fields. 6 sheep contentedly in some others. And then.......empty fields after empty fields. No one seemingly grows or grazes anything on it. Not ever. But selling it off for building purposes apparently isn't permissale either. Meanwhile, people are living squeezed like sardines in small houses with postage stamp sized gardens. If they DO have a slightly larger garden ( I'm talking of 1/2 acre not a palatial multi-acre park)- and this is my favourite - of late they seem to build an entire house in their back garden! Thereby actually actively contributing to the fallacious "overcrowding" effect. How is that sane?? Either way, I read that only 7 % of the UK is built on (!!) which is ludicrous for a county that is home to so many inhabitants. Can that be right? 7 %?
If this is true then it is small wonder that house prices are so high. Perhaps instead of directing our fury at reckless building societies and "greedy" buyers/investors, we should direction our efforts at the government to release more land for private development? After all, which sane person would opt to buy an overpriced box if they had the opportunity to build their own home on a decent sized plot instead. But as there currently IS no alternative to the overpriced box, prices spiralled into orbit. Whilst they may dip for a while or even dip permanently....even if they do, there still is no relationship between average income and HP. As recent events have shown - it's never a good longterm plan to live on borrowed money. The whole thing inevitably goes pear shaped when the banks call in their loans. And they will ALWAYS call in their loans.
Ok, so WHO would one have to petition for land release???? Under which governmental department's remit would such fall? Just moaning about the current state of HP affairs isn't terribly fulfilling! Or productive.:rotfl:
Many thanks
Hi, I'm a new forum member and I've just spent several entertaining and informative hours browsing through this section of the forum.
I have lived in the UK for the past 23 years ( hubby is English) but am Austrian by birth and grew up in Switzerland. Throughout my time of living over here I've always been baffled why there is virtually is no land for sale. I mean...a considerable chunk of Austria and Switzerland are uninhabitable ( mountains! lakes! etc) and yet ...there isn't, and never has been, a shortage of building plots. Here? Seemingly not. Or if a land does get permission for building houses, the developer - which I'm not, I hasten to add - HAS to built 20 houses like rabbit hutches next to one another.
One of my neighbours - lovely lady but an ardent environmentalist/conservationist - constantly bemoans "the state of this overcrowded little island". She clearly must be seeing different things than I do. We live in the SW, in Devon, and "overcrowding" isn't the expression which leaps to mind. Not if you are cow, horse or sheep anyway. All around me is farmland. And more farmland. 2 horses graze peacefully in 3 huge fields. 6 sheep contentedly in some others. And then.......empty fields after empty fields. No one seemingly grows or grazes anything on it. Not ever. But selling it off for building purposes apparently isn't permissale either. Meanwhile, people are living squeezed like sardines in small houses with postage stamp sized gardens. If they DO have a slightly larger garden ( I'm talking of 1/2 acre not a palatial multi-acre park)- and this is my favourite - of late they seem to build an entire house in their back garden! Thereby actually actively contributing to the fallacious "overcrowding" effect. How is that sane?? Either way, I read that only 7 % of the UK is built on (!!) which is ludicrous for a county that is home to so many inhabitants. Can that be right? 7 %?
If this is true then it is small wonder that house prices are so high. Perhaps instead of directing our fury at reckless building societies and "greedy" buyers/investors, we should direction our efforts at the government to release more land for private development? After all, which sane person would opt to buy an overpriced box if they had the opportunity to build their own home on a decent sized plot instead. But as there currently IS no alternative to the overpriced box, prices spiralled into orbit. Whilst they may dip for a while or even dip permanently....even if they do, there still is no relationship between average income and HP. As recent events have shown - it's never a good longterm plan to live on borrowed money. The whole thing inevitably goes pear shaped when the banks call in their loans. And they will ALWAYS call in their loans.
Ok, so WHO would one have to petition for land release???? Under which governmental department's remit would such fall? Just moaning about the current state of HP affairs isn't terribly fulfilling! Or productive.:rotfl:
Many thanks
0
Comments
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Well, the population of Austria is about 8 million, the population of GB is over 60 million. There are some wide open spaces here - Scotland and Wales, mainly - but there is simply less space. I estimate we have around 8 times Austria's population, but in only 3 times the space.
Also, people get upset about building on farmland when there are a lot of brownfield sites and empty houses.0 -
Well, the population of Austria is about 8 million, the population of GB is over 60 million. There are some wide open spaces here - Scotland and Wales, mainly - but there is simply less space. I estimate we have around 8 times Austria's population, but in only 3 times the space.
It's only 7 times the population once you add the children in cellars to the figures.
(sorry)0 -
The planning regulations where i live (greenbelt) actively discourage new businesses from starting up in the area outside of VERY proscribed areas laid out in fine detail on a plan published in 1999. The reason is they do not want any more people moving here to live, work or play. This is officially sanctioned Not In My Back Yard!0
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i am curious too why it is so difficult to buy land and build a house here in the uk unlike in most other places. building our own house after getting the plans approved would atleast ensure one doesnt get a creaky house (even new builds). cant understand why they dont build houses here with concrete or bricks for all the walls and floors or for that matter why the roof has to be made out of wood with tiles stuck on it, concrete would be stronger and less maintenence and wouldnt lose heat if properly built. find it strange that half the houses are made out of wood where you can kick through into the next room and maybe even through the floorboards as well. would have loved to be able to buy a plot of land and have a house built but getting a plot is difficult here within cities or suburbs.bubblesmoney :hello:0
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Also, people get upset about building on farmland when there are a lot of brownfield sites and empty houses.[/quote]
And "brownfield sites" are those with permission to build, right?
Except...WHERE are those sites? Perhaps in other counties. They sure ain't in Devon. Unless they are all owned by property landlords who build said rabbit hutches.
That aside:
"It's only 7 times the population once you add the children in cellars to the figures."
Cleaver, how DARE you! It's monstrous...and I absolutely WOULD be mortally insulted....IF I wasn't roaring with laughter. Still, shame on you. Cheeky, you fast witted devil. :rotfl:0 -
Sigh.
And I had SUCH high hopes for sensible answers......
Every 1 in 14 of my posts are sensible and refreshingly free of sarcasm.
I guess you could ask your question another 13 times? To be honest, writing out the same thing again and again may be good practice if you ever do get to the planning permission stage.0 -
Pretty simple really, local government controls planning permission. Local government is inherently bias and tends to be incompetent and corrupt.
There's a reason the government is taking the power away planning authorities for important stuff like power stations and transportation hubs.
Planning permission is one of the main reason the housing bubble lasted so long and its impacts will be much worse.
only a fraction of the county is actually built upon but people !!!!! about losing the green belt as though our economy being destroyed by planning policy isnt really an issue.0 -
'Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people' Margaret Thatcher0
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