If the planning process was overhauled and more houses built would everything be OK?

DRFC1879

I made the point elsewhere that many a business could do well by moving out of London and benefitting from the lower labour costs, lower rents and less congested transport links this would bring. I guess the reason they are loathe to do so is a bit of a chicken and egg situation where the best talent flocks to London for the best jobs so it the best companies have to set up shop there to get the best talent. It would only take a few years for this to be rectified though as the brain drain in the North would cease to be an issue and the graduates and school leavers would find jobs on reasonable money in areas where they could afford to live and the service industries (theatres/nice bars/restaurants/live music venues etc.) would spring up and flourish to cater for their more refined and/or extravagant needs.

C_Mababejive

dktreesea wrote: »

Be careful what you wish for. We have some schools like that, put together by Miller Homes with parts built off site. So badly built that a wall recently collapsed in high winds at one of our primaries. 17 schools now closed because they are thought to be structurally unsound and none reopened as of yet.

We also have some very well engineered homes of the highest quality. The concept only needs to be adapted for smaller less expensive homes..

http://www.huf-haus.com/en.html

choille

After the war their was acute housing shortage so prefabricated houses were made in factories & then erected & finished on site. This was done as a stop gap, but some are still being lived in.

Walter Seagull devised a similar type of housing that is quite easy to erect and is often used by self-build programmes where training & childcare is part of the package. This kinda addresses both housing shortage & training for work to people who otherwise wouldn't have access to either. This can also be accessed by the disabled.
The type of construction means that it is not necessary to have a level site, so therefore 'cheap unsuitable ' ground can be used ie ex quarries.
This type of construction is extremely well insulated thereby making them very cheap to heat. The panels can be moved, so that when the size of the household changes the house can also change easily: rooms can be enlarged or divided.

If all 'empty' houses were brought into use then there would be a start on addressing the so-called housing shortage, but I fear that until there is the political will to do so it aint gonna happen.