Bleak housing

Delegates at a University of Cambridge conference this week will hear that such problems could in turn lead to growing levels of homelessness, overcrowding and widening social inequality over the coming decades.

Currently, 7.7 million homes in England fail to meet the Government's Decent Home Standard. More than one million children live in overcrowded housing, more than 90,000 homeless children in England are living in temporary accommodation, and four million children in the UK live in poverty after their housing costs have been paid.

In England alone, 1.8 million households are on waiting lists for affordable housing. An estimated 12.2 million people are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage. The average price of a home in England & Wales is now £175,000 - well beyond reach for most first-time buyers. Without action, experts say, these problems will only get worse.

The prospects for the housing market and UK housing affordability will be debated by 100 leading researchers in the field of housing and planning at a conference, hosted by the University's Centre for Housing and Planning Research, from 15-17 September at King's College, Cambridge.

The event marks 20 years of housing-related research at the University. Drawing on the latest studies in the field, academics will argue that the future now looks bleak for housing in the UK.

Professor Christine Whitehead, from the Centre, said: "Housing is no longer simply about putting a roof over people's heads. The richer the country becomes, the more complex its housing problems."

"If supply is able to keep pace with this growth we will have a more equal society and a more even distribution of growth across the country. But in reality the likely scenario is that there will be more volatility in the housing market and worsening affordability."

The conference will also highlight how the importance of housing has never been more evident - while reflecting on the continued fallout of the collapse of the housing market and its dramatic, ongoing impact on the wider economy.

Since the downturn, rates of building new homes are at their lowest for decades but the population is forecast to increase significantly in the near future. Meanwhile, the numbers of people on housing waiting lists continues to grow.

Within a context of the previous Government which, it will be argued, set unrealistically high targets for building new houses and a new Government which has scrapped these targets and taken a radically different and controversial approach, conference attendees will reflect on the lessons of the last 20 years - and look at potential solutions to housing crises, here and abroad, over the next two decades.

Professor Whitehead added: "There are concerns about the new Government's approach, in particular, how to ensure that local authorities will plan enough housing to meet overall requirements and how to ensure that local incentives are large enough to offset the negative impact of development on local communities."

The Centre for Housing and Planning Research is also launching a new book at the conference on a similar theme. Making Housing More Affordable: The Role of Intermediate Tenures, answers key questions concerning affordable housing and low-cost home ownership. It asks whether these intermediate tenures have the potential to play a longer-term role in achieving sustainable housing markets and in housing the growing number of people who cannot afford to purchase homes on the open market.