Labour condemned for allowing ‘new generation of slum homes’ in England
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Government accused of permitting a planning ‘free-for-all’ by allowing developers to convert office blocks into flats without the usual controls. Labour has been accused of allowing developers to build a new generation of “slum” homes by converting office blocks into flats without planning permission.
![[Nigel Crisp]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/394f4c7b275992c34a7c9594731f50cde2d30e8f/0_17_3888_2333/master/3888.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The controversial projects will boost Keir Starmer’s drive to build 1.5m new homes in England but have been labelled a “free-for-all” for developers. Many of these commercial blocks are built on industrial estates or business parks, with complaints of poor ventilation and no access to private outdoor space.
![[John Healey]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/413544170698b67a91b34e14ab14816ebfb0ae04/0_76_2267_1360/master/2267.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In opposition, Labour vowed to scrap the schemes, condemning a “get-out clause” that allowed developers to build “slum housing”, and a lack of requirements for a certain number of affordable homes. But when the government published its national planning policy framework on Thursday, there was no reference to banning the developments.
Hugh Ellis, policy director at the Town and Country Planning Association, said: “It is shameful that Labour has allowed this policy to continue. It is Dickensian – tolerating the creation of slum housing for those people most in need.”. Ellis said not all the homes built via office-to-residential schemes were substandard, but the projects needed to be properly regulated under the planning process to ensure high-quality and affordable new homes. “This is a free-for-all,” he said.
Ministers will be challenged this week in parliament about the lack of planning controls on a proposed new spate of office-to-residential conversions that are creating thousands of tower block homes. Nigel Crisp, the former chief executive of the NHS in England, will question the government on the danger of the schemes delivering poor housing that risks public health.
