... the middle way. I spent much of my life living in 4-6 floor apartments, and they work well. But we can't shirk on standards, or minimum sizes. That's not a long term solution. That's just profiteering, and we've had too much of that.
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London County Council flats? We may not want to copy every aspect, but the quality of the build and the design have stood the test of time. from the pattern of the brick to the choice of font for the name, they seem designed to elevate.
They also want shinier teeth, freedom from hangovers, a beach-ready body, and to be the lead guitarist in 1970s-era Pink Floyd. But unfortunately they have to live in the world as it is.
Are you going to put that statement on the marketing brochure for your new housing development!? "Here's your flat. No garden, no private parking. Live in the real world"
UK house buyers tend to avoid apartments because (like new build houses in Britain) they’re generally poorly built, small, have no storage space and little or no outside space.
I'm looking to buy. I'm not bothered if it's detached but yes I want a drive way and a decent sized garden. It's not much to ask for the best part of a 3rd of a million quid.
Yes, I agree, and I'd go as far as 'most' want walkable neighbourhoods, but all other things being equal, they also want a detached house with a garden rather than a flat or a terrace/townhouse
All things aren't equal. For everybody to have a large detached house with a big garden, we'd need an economy twice the size on Britain's, every single person to hold an executive position in a major financial company, and a couple of additional Hampshires.
Cause or effect? Most younger people have no interest in gardening. We want houses because flats are almost always (a) small starter homes, (ii) run-down council flats, or (3) overpriced yuppie apartments in city centres. Build good quality family-sized flats in nice locations and see demand grow.
I'm sorry, I just don't agree that 'most' people in the UK would go for a flat over a detached house. Younger buyers might prefer them because their priorities are not gardening and property maintenance. But I reckon they see themselves there one day. Its what Brits aspire to in a house
Stop people concreting and decking over their gardens (front and back), and a house may become less desirable. I reckon some of the attraction of a large detached house is the space for four cars. It's mostly not for the wildlife anyway.
I certainly dont oppose quality mass housing, a huge part of my work is valuing housing land, and I've spent half my career selling housing sites. I just oppose instructing people what they should live in rather than building what people want
We've spent a hundred years building cheap flats that give most people no reason to aspire to buy them, so of course most people don't aspire to buy them. Build the right properties in the right settings and people will change their views. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen over time.
Do people really want a postage stamp garden that their teenagers will never go out to play in anyway, if that means living in a low-density suburb where the only transport is mum's taxi, or would they rather live somewhere where their kids will have more friends nearby can be semi-independent?
Some do, some don't. What's needed is a range of properties allowing people to get on the ladder - a starter flat and then when the time is right & the money is available the chance to move through a range of properties to suit their needs and perhaps finally back to a flat in monitored housing.
But that's because the standards for acoustic insulation and common areas are non-existent, and so living in an apartment complex means walking through a dingy corridor in to a home where you can hear all orthoganally adjacent neighbours as well as the washer-dryer in your kitchen-lounge-diner.
Sure, but culture can change off the back of evidence. Once people start seeing that high density doesn't mean noise & no privacy there'll be plenty of people who'd rather live in a walkable city centre with bars & restaurants instead of being in bumfuck-on-nowhere with 1 single Chinese restaurant.
Spent some time in Germany last summer and stayed in lots of different city centre apartments. They were all well built so we never heard neighbours around us, nor traffic noise below and had private outdoor space. Build good quality well soundproofed apartments and people's views will change.
Indeed. I had a lesson in this in the place I lived in London. I was a converted office block, and while it had several problems one of them wasn't noise from above or below.
This was partly due to being a big pile of concrete, but you couldn't hear any but the most antisocial neighbours.
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Of course, they also have rent controls 👏
But that doesn't mean everybody can be Robert Plant.
It's ridiculous to oppose quality mass housing cos it doesn't meet an unattainable ideal.
Does No.10 still have that Nudge Unit?
This was partly due to being a big pile of concrete, but you couldn't hear any but the most antisocial neighbours.