{"id":89597,"date":"2018-03-05T14:28:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T14:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=986b3a0c507847a4d5f8a9cf9d891ddf"},"modified":"2018-03-05T14:28:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T14:28:42","slug":"speech-sajid-javids-speech-at-the-national-planning-policy-framework-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=89597","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Sajid Javid’s speech at the National Planning Policy Framework conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Everyone remembers their childhood home.<\/p>\n

Mine was the flat above the family shop.<\/p>\n

With my parents \u2013 who had come to Britain from Pakistan with almost nothing \u2013 and my 4 brothers.<\/p>\n

Nothing fancy, but an important rung on the ladder for our family.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n

It was a struggle at times, with the 7 of us sharing 2 bedrooms.<\/p>\n

And my mum and dad \u2013 like so many immigrants before and since \u2013 working all hours to make our money go further.<\/p>\n

But it was nonetheless a stable, loving home that gave us all a great start\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026a start that\u2019s undoubtedly the reason that I\u2019m standing here today.<\/p>\n

And I never forget that.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t have many luxuries, but I could count on having a safe, warm place to play \u2013 and fight! \u2013 with my brothers.<\/p>\n

Do my homework. Enjoy family meals and fun times together.<\/p>\n

I know how lucky I am.<\/p>\n

And how, today, there are many families and other people who are not so fortunate.<\/p>\n

Who are growing up without that strong foundation because, over the years, we\u2019ve simply failed to build enough homes.<\/p>\n

The result \u2013 soaring house prices and rents \u2013 has effectively locked a generation out of the housing market.<\/p>\n

Which is why \u2013 as the Prime Minister has just said – this government is taking urgent action on all fronts to turn this situation around.<\/p>\n

Work that is starting to pay off.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, we have delivered more than a million homes.<\/p>\n

And thanks to your efforts, we\u2019ve seen 217,350 homes added to our housing stock last year.<\/p>\n

The highest level of net additions in all but one of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also helped hundreds of thousands of people on to the housing ladder through Help to Buy.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re cracking down on rogue landlords, abuse of leaseholds, taking steps to make renting fairer and tackle homelessness through earlier intervention.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re working to encourage landlords to offer longer, family friendly tenancies.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve launched a new, more assertive national housing agency, Homes England.<\/p>\n

And we are putting billions into affordable housing and delivering essential infrastructure through the Housing Infrastructure Fund.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s still a long way to go to deliver 300,000 homes a year in England by the middle of the next decade.<\/p>\n

Your role as planners and developers is absolutely vital in helping us get there.<\/p>\n

I often say that local government is the frontline of our democracy.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s true, then you, as planners, are in many ways the frontline of our housing challenge.<\/p>\n

Informing crucial decisions that give the go ahead for new homes.<\/p>\n

Ensuring that these are supported by the right infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Doing the best for your local areas and creating, quite simply, great places to live.<\/p>\n

Places that will still be here in a hundred years\u2019 time as well-established and much-loved parts of the community.<\/p>\n

So the part that you play in helping us turn the consultations we\u2019re launching today\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 on the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)<\/a> and the reform of developer contributions<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026into more homes and stronger communities could not be more important.<\/p>\n

These measures implement the planning policy reforms in:<\/p>\n