Morning:
3°c
Boris Johnson calls for end to cramped living conditions
Mira Bar-Hillel, Property Correspondent11.08.09
New homes do not have enough room for residents to unwind, cook or invite friends for dinner, according to the Government's design watchdog.
A study from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment found that new-build properties failed to provide enough space for everyday living.
The owners of 2,500 private new homes built between 2003 and 2006, including flats, houses and bungalows, were interviewed for the report.
It revealed that private homes did not provide enough space to prepare food easily, have friends round for a meal or find a quiet place to relax. The study echoed Mayor Boris Johnson's call for an end to Londoners being forced to live in cramped conditions in "Hobbit homes".
A month ago the Mayor told housing experts that the "scale of the human butt" should determine the minimum size of new homes, and that "the human buttocks are not getting any smaller." Mr Johnson wants to lay down a minimum space standard for homes to accommodate people.
Almost half of those questioned in the Cabe research said there was not enough space for small children to play safely in the kitchen while meals are being prepared and not enough room for all the furniture they have or would like to have.
Over a third said they did not have enough kitchen space for appliances such as a toaster or a microwave.
Fifty-seven per cent complained about inadequate storage space and nearly three in four said they did not have enough space for the three small bins required to recycle waste. Cabe chief executive Richard Simmons said: "We need local planning authorities to ensure much higher space standards before giving developments the go-ahead. Cabe believes that increased space in homes has direct implications for national policy priorities such as health, education and recycling. For example, dining as a family could encourage healthier eating habits and stronger family relationships.
"Children without space to entertain friends will do so outside the home, beyond parental supervision."
Cabe wants local authorities to approve only developments that include sufficient space in new homes. The Mayor's rules will not come into effect until 2011 - and will only apply to social housing, not private homes.
Reader views (12)
The big difference you notice when you visit other parts of Europe is it's more normal for families to live in privately rented flats - mostly low rise blocks but with each flat having a reasonable floor space.
In Britain our obsession is with owning a house but it stands to reason that houses, even small ones, take up much more land than flats. This inefficient land use means homes have to be small or we'd have no countryside left, and big US-style sprawling suburbs.
We're stuck to some extent with the choices made by previous generations. I don't see an easy solution, other than building more high rise blocks in the future.
- Nigel, London
Well look at the victorians they built homes that allowed enough space for a shed on the balcony.
Anyway Council flats were always bigger than private my mum had a front room that was 18ft by 12 ft on the 6th floor of a tower block. It was big enough to swaing a leopard.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Good to see Boris accept that the private sector doesn't deliver the goods unless overall standards are set: it's how we design cars, and many other things, after all. A longer-term plus is to iron out the mad anomaly that public sector homes are built to a higher spec, at least space-wise, than private. It should follow from this that we should no longer need publicly-owned estates, which become ghettos of the disadvantaged, merely publicly-subsidised tenants who can live where they choose, and who can have their rent subsidy reduced as their income rises. This would destroy the sub-culture of illicit subletting of public housing. It would also get rid of this two-tier culture of 'key workers', who funnily enough all seem to be in the public sector.
- Mdj E10, london uk
Mark Lee, it will mean better designed homes. And you obviously have no idea what people mean by "nanny state". It doesn't cover any government intervention in anything at all, believe it or not.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent
The sentiment is right - people do deserve decent-sized homes.
But if we enforce these rules, it will surely mean more expensive homes? Bigger homes in the same place will logically mean bigger prices.
What will happen to first-time-buyers? If people are prepared to live in smaller homes in a more central location, rather than a bigger home in the suburbs, who are we to stop them? Who are we to say "Sorry, you can't have a home in that area, to build one at your price point would mean that our rules say that it is too small for you to live in"
Where are the people who normally moan about a nanny state when we need them?
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall
These hobbit homes were all built under Ken Livingstone the previous mayor who didn't care for the well being of Londoners. Boris has once again saved many from inhumane conditions forced upon us and these new homes built under his term will be wonderful, grand houses that echo his beautiful and intellectual stature as mayor.
- Kimberley, London
"Almost half of those questioned in the Cabe research said there was not enough space for small children to play safely in the kitchen"
I can't believe I just read that. There is no way a child can play safely in a kitchen, especially while meals are being prepared. From a design point of view if the area set aside for play is equal to, or greater than, that set aside for storage, preparation and cooking, you might just have somewhere suitable, but safe?
Idiocy.
Maybe such people should just look for open plan.
- Escobar-Alop-Lop, Camden County
The root cause of many, many social problems we are now facing, from traffic congestion to the housing shortage is our small country has simply become too crowded. And the reason it's happening is large net immigration. We don't need to stop immigration altogether but we need to cap it, preferably at a level well below the number of people leaving. Let the population fall for a few years.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent
Well you get what you pay for. That's why there's a massive difference between new-build and period property. If nobody buys new-build then they'll stop building it. No need for Govermental intervention. Not everybody can have everything they want unless we go communist and all the have same......
- Mark, London
Well what do you expect with mass uncontrolled immigration then bang out as many babies as you can and then ask for a nice big house in the country. Its going to end in tears...........
- Grim Reaper, Hell
Well, we can't have it both ways.
If we want bigger houses we have to use more land, and the British obsession with 'protecting the countryside/environment' means that land prices will always be high and the only economic way for housebuilders to make a profit is to make houses smaller and smaller.
- George, London
Most of the newbuild homes I looked recently are just boxes, especially the ones designated for part rent/buy social housing schemes! The 'kitchen' area is literally tagged onto a boxy, pokey living room (with floor to ceiling windows to create the effect of space, in a lot of cases); the bedroom(s) scarcely have room for a bed, let alone a wardrobe!
- Kaz, London
