Reading needs more new family homes
Council leader appeals to developers to think big
Last updated 25th Jan 2022
READING Borough Council is calling on developers to increase the number of new family homes being built in Reading to meet local demand.
Latest figures released by Government show Reading has again surpassed its rolling three-year target for facilitating the building of new homes in the borough.
But the Council remains concerned about the number of new homes being built by developers which are small one bedroom flats and therefore unsuitable for families. The Council’s own figures show that 43% of new homes over the last three years have been one bedroom. Meanwhile, Reading needs more than 50% of its new homes to be family-sized homes of three or more bedrooms. This demand is not being met by developers.
Whilst the Council is making good progress on building its own new local authority housing, Reading is also falling short of its needs for affordable housing of more than 400 homes per year. The Council is additionally calling on developers to do more to help to meet these needs.
Jason Brock, Reading Borough Council Leader, said:
“Whilst we of course welcome the fact that Reading continues to surpass its housing targets, if you scratch below the surface you very quickly find the new homes being built are not necessarily the homes that Reading most needs.
“There will always be demand for small one-bedroom flats in a major employment hub like Reading, but the biggest demand we have is for family homes. Some people will fixate on traditional houses in that description but it also includes larger flats, which are completely suitable for family living and a great many families live in flats across the town. Indeed, not all houses are automatically family homes.
“43% of new homes built over the last three years in Reading are one bedroom, but Reading needs more than 50% of its new homes to be family-sized homes of three or more bedrooms and that demand is not being met by developers. Our own Council house building programme – the largest in a generation – is focused on provision of family homes, but we do not have the ability to fully compensate for the market’s failure to deliver what is needed.
“The Council calls on developers to do the right thing for Reading by building the homes the town needs.”
Where Councils fail to build at least 75% their government target for new homes, they become subject to the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. That means proposed developments should be granted planning permission unless their adverse impacts "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh their benefits, and this can mean that an authority's planning policies are considered out of date. The Council’s three-year performance means this does not apply in Reading.