A place to call home

Since being elected as the Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire I have found planning matters have produced some of the most bulging post bags. I am thrilled then, to have been appointed as the Government’s Minister for Housing and Planning by the Prime Minister this month and to have the opportunity to work at the heart of an area so important to my constituents and the country.

Everyone deserves a safe, affordable and secure place to call home and fixing Britain’s broken housing market is of paramount importance to me. As I start the job it will be safety, affordability, environmental quality and my longstanding commitment to strong local plans and neighbourhood plans in the forefront of my mind.

It is important to me that local communities are empowered to decide what kind of housing they want and where they want it. This is not about having less housing, but the right kind in the right place. Planning needs to be something done with people, not to them, and I hope we can continue to see growing volumes of building as we win back the trust and consent in the planning system across the country.

Kit Malthouse MP
Minister for Housing and Planning in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government