Sir Keir Starmer has promised to ‘get Britain building again’ if elected on 4 July with a ‘blitz’ of planning reforms in his first days and weeks in office, delivering 300,000 new homes a year over the next ParliamentLabour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes could make the sewage crisis worse if there is a “rush” to deregulate planning rules, experts have warned.
“It needs really careful attention. Yes there are elements of planning that might hold back development. “It can be done – but are you going to build rubbish houses just to get the numbers up? Or are you going to build quality homes in a way that are fit for the 21st century?”, the average person uses 142 litres of water per day. The average household occupancy ranges from between 2.3 to 2.6 people. This suggests an estimated 230 people across 100 houses would produce upwards of 34,500 litres – or an estimated 38 tonnes of sewage.
Such policies would be expensive – Raeng estimates both would require around £100bn in capital expenditure alone. Jamie Woodward, a water industry campaigner and professor of physical geography at the University of Manchester, has carried out research into the devastating effects of microplastics pollution in Britain’s rivers.