New housing minister announced this week

Gavin Barwell was announced as the new Minster of State for Housing and Planning, as well as the Minister for London.

Barwell’s constituency is Croydon central, an area he has shown a real passion for in the past. He was instrumental in securing £25 million in funding following the London riots, in which Croydon was heavily impacted.

Whilst he doesn’t have a huge amount of experience in the housing sector yet, he is keen to get started on the project, and has shown his excitement in a series of social media posts. He has said:

"(I) Look forward to working with councils, housing associations, developers and investors to ensure we build the homes people need and deserve and to working with the Mayor of London to ensure the continued success of our wonderful, diverse capital – and that all Londoners share in it."

Following his initial speech on his plans for his tenure as housing minister.

His main aims are:

• Building 1 million new homes across the UK
• Projecting and enhancing Green Belt land – no new homes should be built on green belt except in exceptional circumstances
• The Government is committed to a mixed programme of different tenures with regards to home ownership, but believes that 86% of people want to own their own home.