housing

At present, too many young people are priced out of housing, as a result of too few new houses being built. I will work with the government, councils and developers to redevelop land for housing, promoting a Brownfield First approach and encouraging the re-use and conversion of existing buildings whose original use is no longer viable or wanted.

Having affordable, eco-friendly housing is imperative in South Yorkshire as we move forward to our net-zero carbon targets of 2030 (Rotherham & Sheffield), 2040 (Doncaster) and 2045 (Barnsley), and as we tackle the housing crisis.

To achieve both affordability and environmental sustainability in both construction and running-costs needs creative thinking, such as the “tiny house” movement which is growing in Scandinavia and Germany, where perfectly formed housing is delivered in a compact footprint. I will promote these kinds of alternative approaches to achieving our environmental targets, whilst giving smaller households and families a route into home ownership.

I will promote and support effective, locally developed solutions, such as the award-winning Sky House project, delivering modern “back-to-backs” in Sheffield and Rotherham. These achieve high-density, brownfield developments, saving our green belt, while offering the housing so many families need.