THE government’s housing minister visited a “stalled” site for hundreds of much-needed homes in Poole in a bid to help development move forward.

Poole MP Robert Syms asked Kit Malthouse to visit the town to “understand some of the issues with housing”, particularly at the former power station site in Hamworthy where at least 850 homes are planned.

Mr Malthouse also visited other development sites in the town, including Nile Court – an apartment block of 46 affordable homes overlooking Holes Bay – and the town centre regeneration area where more than 400 homes, office space, a new leisure centre, and replacement bus station are planned.

Speaking to the Daily Echo prior to his tour of the town, Mr Malthouse said there was an “urgent need for a new generation of council houses”, especially in “high cost areas like Poole”.

“Councils were enticed out of council house building and owning back in the Blair years. We think that now has to be reversed. By taking the cap off the Housing Revenue Account it means councils are free to borrow and build,” he said.

He added: “Mr Syms is very keen to see the power station site developed because it will provide a huge amount of much-needed housing in the area.

“The site has become a bit stalled over the last two or three years, despite the fact a bridge has been put in and there have been extensive talks between the owners and the council.”

Following the adoption of its new Local Plan, the council now has a target to build 14,200 new homes in the borough by 2033. A minimum of 3,000 affordable homes make up this total.

The current national target is to build 300,000 a year – last year around 222,000 new homes were added to the housing stock.

“My mantra is I want more, better and faster,” Mr Malthosue said.

“The fact Poole council are well over the five-year land supply and looking at good numbers of houses coming forward is really something to be celebrated. But, at the same time, councillors and developers need to come together in a collaborative relationship, rather than a confrontational one.

“Critical to that is this idea of good design. Most local objections to housing come about because people say it will spoil the area. If you want to get acceptability from a local neighbourhood for housing, make it look great and something people are proud to have added to their area.”

When asked how Brexit uncertainty is affecting the housing market, he said: “Whatever happens with Brexit, the fundamentals of the housing market in this country are strong. Demand and supply are still extremely strong and will remain so for some time to come.

“In the longer term, the housing market will perform as it broadly has over the last few years. What we hope is wage inflation remains above house price inflation so that young people can see the prospect of home ownership in the future.”

He added: “My message is: ‘keep building, keep buying and carry on’. I need the housing market to stay buoyant to maintain investment levels so houses get built.”