Don’t look to Singapore for solution on housing

From: David M Adams, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley.

I WAS interested to read Mr R Hanson’s letter (The Yorkshire Post, August 26) in which he offers a solution to the housing crisis. It is noticeable that he regards landlords as the butt of the problem, and then proceeds to imply that new affordable housing should, in part, be subsidised by the taxpayer. In other words, building more social housing.

Not once does Mr Hanson refer to the real cause for the high demand and this is also a massive blind spot of the politicians. It is the inexorable rise in population that is the problem and until this is addressed the matter will get progressively worse.

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Mr Hanson then goes on to cite the Singaporean model as the panacea. He fails to mention that the vast majority of accommodation in that country is made up of huge soulless flats and apartments, of which some occupants have a share, along similar lines to co-operatives.

There are however, strict rules and regulations on occupancy standards which are firmly enforced by the authorities.

The population density of Singapore is one of the highest in the world and I am quite sure that first time buyers in the UK would feel disinclined to invest in developments likely to have a lifespan of only 20 years or so.

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