Words of Wisdom 1

Councils which encourage people to live on boats to ease the housing crisis will be given financial rewards, the housing minister has said.

Grant Shapps has told councils that residential boats will be eligible for the new homes bonus, where the government matches the council tax on a dwelling for six years.  He said the money could be used to attract further private investment and drive the regeneration of the land around parts of the country’s waterways.

Mr Shapps said councils should consider how new powers to localise control over housing provision could mean that more people choose to live in boats in areas where they would otherwise not be able to afford to live.

The UK’s current housing shortage requires around 60,000 new homes to be built per quarter for the shortfall to be met. Mr Shapps said that houseboats are an example of how ‘unconventional housing’ can be used to tackle the crisis.

So there we have it then fill the Rivers on the Broads with house boats as well as filling the land around the Broads with large housing estates.  At least the boats will be able to float away when climate change increases the sea levels around the East Anglia coast!
Posted on 19.9.11

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous20 September 2011 at 08:42

    Panorama last night revealed the disasterous affects that increasing demands on freshwater due to growth and housbuilding has on rivers. If more demand is placed on our slow flowing rivers and boreholes in Norfolk, then the Broads will turn brackish as salt water flows inland. The damage to the wildlife and the ecosystem would be devastating. Water levels would also drop for a while so the houseboats would be stranded until global warming raises them back again
    again.
    And all this so the developers and their Council friends can grab a fortune.

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  2. Anonymous20 September 2011 at 08:48

    I'm expecting the Government to suggest next that people should move into caravans and live on brownfield sites to ease the housing problem.
    An ideal place would be a former scrapyard and perhaps councils could be given some financial reward to implement this.
    Perhaps Basildon Council already knows of this and are paving the way by preparing sites in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous23 September 2011 at 23:31

    I quite like the idea of more houseboats. In this area they would mostly be in areas controlled by the Broads Autority so they would be unlikely to allow very many as they seem very opposed to them.

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