What I would like to see is all this 'affordable, intermediate, London Living Rent' nonsense put to one side and purely homes being built for what is now called 'social rent', which to most of us means what normal people doing normal jobs can afford to pay and still live reasonably comfortably. It's no good Johnson spewing out all this nonsense about high skilled, high wage economy, a lot of the more 'menial' type of jobs which are essential to all of us will still need doing, and will not attract huge wages. Those people still are entitled to a decent home that they can afford. Clearly given housing waiting lists for most councils up and down the country, we are desperate for these homes, it cannot be beyond the wit of man to use modern, cheaper more environmentally building methods to build on a large scale to address this problem? What it does need is the political will - need I say more? I could take you to a couple of houses within a short distance of where I live and show you two houses - abandoned, deteriorating which have stood empty for years, one of them is almost opposite Hounslow House! That scenario could be repeated up and down the land so for any government and local authorities to countenance building on 'green sites' while that situation is allowed to exist is a scandal. All these properties should be brought back into use, and if the property owner cannot be found there is provision for a local council to take over the property. Let's get over this obsession with 'property ladders' and home ownership as the be all and end all of things, what we need are decent homes.
Vanessa Smith ● 924d