ARE WE BUILDING TOO MANY HOUSES?

It might seem counter intuitive at a time when millions of people can’t get a foot on the housing ladder - or afford a decent place to rent - but this week the Byline Times podcast assembles evidence to suggest that too many houses are being built in England. The government has set a target of 300,000 new homes a year which could result in the creation of ghost estates - not to mention the despoilation of beautiful countryside. New house building is one of the shibboleths of the modern Conservative party - and its supporters in the media, who are obsessed with first time buyers and rising house prices. But concern over planning reforms that would make it easier to build on green belt land were also widely cited as a reason for the Tories defeat in recent the Chesham and Amersham by election. We hear from Byline Times writer Julian Mercer; environmental campaigner Merle Gering; Rugby Borough councillor Maggie O' Rourke; and economist Ian Mulheirn. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White. Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times newspaper.