Housing Poll Shows 'Nibyism' Rising

A YouGov survey commissioned by the New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB) has revealed that more than eight in ten people (81 per cent) believe Britain needs more housing for sale and rent, especially affordable homes for first-time buyers.

But it also shows that far fewer people – just 50 per cent – would welcome more homes of all types in their own immediate neighbourhoods.

A 2007 survey carried out for the NHMB showed a similarly high number of respondents (78 per cent) agreeing that the availability of new homes affordable to first-time buyers was important to the well-being of their local communities. But at that time, the number of people saying they would actively support homes suitable for first-time buyers in their immediate neighbourhood was significantly higher, at 58 per cent.

"This fall is disturbing," said New Homes Marketing Board Chairman David Pretty.

"We have a situation where more people recognise that we have a chronic national housing shortage, who apparently understand what needs to be done to help solve it – but who seem increasingly against playing their own local part in accepting more housing.

"People clearly realise we have a housing problem, but as the crisis deepens, the ‘nimby’ – not-in-my-back-yard – attitude seems to be hardening. If that’s part of a new trend, it’s a very bleak finding.”

The new YouGov survey showed considerable public understanding of Britain’s housing problems. Only 20 per cent of respondents thought the nation had enough homes to cope with its growing population, while 81 per cent agreed that we need more homes of all types for sale and rent, especially housing that is affordable to first-time buyers.

Over two-thirds (69 per cent) agreed that the planning system should be streamlined and speeded-up to enable more and better affordable housing to be built and, crucially, 68 per cent said local communities should accept their share of responsibility for the provision of adequate and affordable new housing.

However, when asked if they would be prepared to accept more housing of all types in their ‘immediate neighbourhood’ only 40 per cent said they agreed, with a further 10 per cent saying they ‘strongly agreed.’ The other half either disagreed (39 per cent) or didn’t know (11 per cent).

David Pretty said: "What is really disappointing is this decreased support for building in their own communities. In the light of the other responses and the nature of the housing problems we face as a nation, it shows how impossible the ‘nimby’ position has now become. If we’re honest, we’re all ‘nimbys’ when it comes to the crunch, but we can’t have it both ways.

"We have got to change that attitude or, once the economy recovers, we will have no chance of ever building the homes we desperately need.

"If local communities won’t accept new housing, it is probably one of the biggest challenges the Government has to face. It means the housing shortage will continue to worsen, and that in turn could mean rocketing house prices and rents in the future – perhaps sooner than many think."

Mr Pretty – who co-chaired the Killian-Pretty Review of the planning applications process which reported to the Government in 2007/8 – has regularly drawn attention to the fact that housing output has been declining for decades and is now the lowest in living memory. Even at the height of the pre-recession ‘boom’, average housing production was lower than in the 1920s when population was much smaller. The result of constant undersupply, he said, has been increasingly unaffordable housing and a pent-up demand for homes to rent and to buy which is growing relentlessly.

"My earlier prediction that we would have a 1million backlog of homes by 2010 has unfortunately come to pass and, on current form, it will increase to over 2million by 2020" he said.

"If we don’t quickly develop the social and political will to deal with this crisis, there is much more pain ahead, particularly for those seeking their first home. Ironically, while house prices may well fall in the short term and be erratic for a while, this growing shortage is creating very considerable underlying upward pressure on house prices and rental levels which will be released into the market when the economy recovers. A prices and rents explosion like that would be very bad news indeed for future buyers and renters."

He concluded: "This survey shows that ordinary people understand the housing problems facing us as communities and as a nation. Now they have to stand up and play their part in getting it solved."

(GK)