Will Forster
Main Page: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)Department Debates - View all Will Forster's debates with the Leader of the House
(1 week, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
I recently had the privilege of spending time with the amazing staff and volunteers at Woking’s homeless shelter and charity, the York Road Project. They do a great job at turning around people’s lives, but they are unable to do so and to get people into new homes if we are not building them. In my constituency alone, 2,000 properties have planning permission, but none is under construction. Some had planning permission granted before the pandemic. Will the Government agree to a debate to ensure that developers are held to account for this situation, and will they introduce “use it or lose it” powers so that we can grow our economy and build the homes we desperately need?
Sir Alan Campbell
The hon. Gentleman will know that this issue is a priority for the Prime Minister, not least because of his experiences when he was the Mayor of Manchester. We are very keen to see schemes unblocked so that we get new homes, but we want to explore all sorts of other possibilities as well. Should the hon. Gentleman seek an Adjournment debate or a Westminster Hall debate, perhaps he could get the latest from Housing Ministers and the Minister for Homelessness about what further action is envisaged by the Government.