Leeds Building Society director of mortgage distribution Martese Carton has urged the government to adopt a long-term strategy to solve the housing crisis.

Carton’s comments come after prime minister Rishi Sunak was forced to delay long-awaited planning reforms last week after almost 50 Conservative MPs threatened to rebel.

The MPs including eight former cabinet ministers, signed an amendment to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill which would have abolished the targets.

The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill was introduced by Michael Gove earlier this year under Boris Johnson’s leadership.

On 24 November, the government announced that the housing supply increased by 232,820 in England from 2021 to 2022, up 10% from 2020 to 2021.

Although this included 210,070 new homes, Carton says “it falls well short of the annual target, which was last achieved in 1977”. 

Carton explains: “There is no silver bullet when it comes to solving the UK’s housing crisis but nationally set housebuilding targets exist for a reason.”

The Home Builders Federation previously warned that scrapping the 300,000 targets could lead to 100,000 fewer homes each year, which Carton describes as “unacceptable”.

She comments: “We are facing a chronic shortage of homes resulting in soaring house prices which drive deposit requirements and mortgages ever higher. This means first-time buyers are finding it harder than ever to get on the ladder. Added to this, high-interest rates are forcing up the mortgage costs for millions.”

“Housing targets help to catalyse supply as well as providing consistency and stability – all things the market desperately needs as we seek to rebalance supply and demand.”

Earlier this year, Gove said since the record high of 244,000 completions pre-pandemic there has since been “a number of economic headwinds which will make life more difficult” to reach the target of 300,000.

Gove highlighted the country’s “significant housing challenges” such as a historic lack of supply compared to the level of population growth.

Meanwhile, Carton says there needs a be a “national conversation about the reasons why we’re building homes”. 

“To make our country prosperous and grow the economy, I believe everybody should have a home that’s decent and affordable. Secure housing is more than a roof over our heads, it drives positive outcomes in health, education, and social mobility.”

“It’s understandable that people are protective of their communities and don’t want undue disruption or pressure on services and infrastructure, but the trade-off is between that, and millions of people being blocked from the benefits home ownership brings,” she adds. 

MPs who had signed the amendment on 23 November were from all wings of the party, including Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, Theresa Villiers, John Redwood, Dame Maria Miller, Damian Green, Chris Grayling, Priti Patel and Esther McVey.

Carton says: “Those supporting the effective removal of the 300,000 housing targets argue they want to put control in the hands of local people. We agree this is an essential component of deciding the development of communities, but this is no reason why the government should step back from having nationally published housing targets.”

“There is certainly scope to debate how national targets are developed and how we can better understand local need, but all too often we have seen that if targets are not in place, things simply do not get done.”