Labour would 'force' communities to develop housebuilding plan

Amy Walker & Charlotte Wright - BBC News, South East
·2 min read
Angela Rayner with Rachel Reeves
Angela Rayner was with the shadow chancellor during a visit to a new housing development on Tuesday [Charlotte Wright/BBC]
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The shadow housing secretary has said she would "force" communities to come up with plans on how new homes should be provided if Labour was in power.

Speaking during a visit to West Sussex, Angela Rayner reiterated the pledge to reintroduce local housing targets.

"Too often we're seeing... speculative developments that are not what local people are asking for," she told BBC South East.

The visit comes after Ms Rayner was accused of breaking electoral law.

The deputy Labour leader said reintroducing local targets would ensure there was the right "infrastructure" around new developments.

The Conservative government scrapped the targets more than a year ago.

Labour has committed to building 1.5 million new homes in England.

Asked if opposition from the Labour-run Crawley Borough Council to plans from a neighbouring council to build 10,000 homes along its boundary contradicted the party's national position, Ms Rayner said she was "not aware of the local issues".

Michael Jones, Crawley's labour council leader, had previously voiced his concern over the potential impacts of the development "given the many unanswered questions relating to the infrastructure requirements".

'Forming that plan'

Ms Rayner said because housing plans were "not up to local communities", this led to "some of the challenges we face".

"Communities are absolutely right that not only do you need the homes but you also need the infrastructure as well," she added.

"I will force local communities to come up with a local plan about 'ok, how are we going to provide the houses that we need locally'. They will be part of forming that plan."

Ms Rayner has been accused of possibly breaking electoral law over information she gave about her main residence before becoming an MP.

She told the BBC today that she was "confident" she had not "done anything wrong" after police launched an investigation.

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