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Councils must be enabled to lead the biggest house-building plans in decades, according to local government leaders. The call followed Gordon Brown's announcement last week to build three million new homes by 2020. The prime minister's new housing Bill, and a Green Paper due early next week, will bring together English Partnerships with the Housing Corporation to create a homes agency to put surplus public land into housing use. The LGA welcomed the drive for more affordable homes but claimed freeing-up more land for housing was not the ‘silver bullet'. LGA chairman, Sir Simon Milton, said: ‘The Government needs to make sure that new homes are built in the right places for the right people. ‘Only councils are able to make the necessary links between housing needs, environmental improvements, employment opportunities, transport provision, education, health and community facilities.' The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) warned Whitehall must not be allowed to ‘put the brakes on housing promises'. APSE chief executive, Paul O'Brien, said: ‘Unnecessary delays in allowing councils to simply get on with the job of meeting housing needs would be completely unacceptable to the vast majority of council leaders. Mr Brown needs to put his foot on the gas and make change happen quickly.' Housing charity Shelter said three million new homes would be a ‘major boost' for families across the country. Chief executive, Adam Sampson, added: ‘Shelter is calling on the prime minister to announce the building of 20,000 extra social rented homes a year in the Comprehensive Spending Review.' It is a sentiment echoed by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) which wants the Government to fund 210,000 new affordable homes over the next three years, with an investment of £11.6bn.

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Councils 'need powers' to lead drive for new housing

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