Government's three million new homes target 'not enough'

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) document has warned that at least a further 500,000 new homes will be required in the next 12 years.

Obtained by The Times, the report says that the added pressures on the housing sector are down to people living longer, women having children later, and migrants starting families in the UK.

The problem has been exacerbated by the collapse in the housing market and the slowdown in housing construction. The government has already lowered its annual target by 30,000 homes a year, from 240,000 to 210,000.

The report goes on to claim that there could be a shortfall in housing of as much as 750,000 by 2016.

Gideon Amos (pictured), chief executive of the TCPA, said: ‘The worrying implication of this report and its picture of a burgeoning older population is the spectre of rising overcrowding, homelessness and social exclusion.’

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