England Requires 600,000 New Residences to Address Influx of Immigrants
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Loading... - David Green
- 23 May 2023
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A recent study conducted by a think tank reveals that England must accommodate an additional 616,000 homes annually to meet the rising numbers of migrants entering the country. The government's current target of constructing 300,000 houses per year falls significantly short of this demand.
Ministers are anticipating that official figures, to be released on Thursday, will indicate a net migration reaching as high as one million individuals. In order to adequately house this record influx of people, the number of required homes would need to be more than double the government's existing target.
The Centre for Policy Studies, relying on government models that assume migrants live in households averaging 2.3 individuals, conducted the analysis. The think tank argues that the current housebuilding targets are based on outdated assumptions of approximately 170,500 migrants arriving in England each year.
Even if net migration were to reach 700,000 annually, as some analysts have predicted, the construction of 500,000 new homes would still be necessary. Experts suggest that net migration levels are likely to fall somewhere between 650,000 and 997,000.
Record levels of net migration were already reached in the previous year, with a surge of 504,000 individuals between June 2021 and June 2022. An official document seen by The Telegraph indicates that the Home Office privately predicts a further 1.1 million foreign workers and students will arrive in the UK in 2024 unless government intervention occurs.
Simultaneously, the government has consistently failed to meet its annual housebuilding target. In England, where 90% of migrants settle, only 252,540 new dwellings were constructed during the previous calendar year.
The growth in migration plays a significant role in driving up house prices due to a lack of supply to meet the increasing demand. Net migration levels have been elevated due to the arrival of large numbers of overseas students and their dependents, as well as Ukrainian refugees and individuals fleeing China's expanding presence in Hong Kong.
Furthermore, the government discontinued mandatory housebuilding targets for local authorities in December. This decision has raised concerns among developers, who warn that it will limit the construction of additional homes.
