New research from property specialists, Pure Commercial Finance, has revealed that the estimated Westminster repair costs of £4bn could instead be used to house 37% of Britain’s homeless population.
According to Pure’s internal data, the average cost to build a three-bedroom house is £99,842.75, meaning 40,000 new homes could be built to house 120,000 of Britain’s homeless.
Some cities in the UK could have their housing deficit completely solved, including Exeter, Watford, Cheltenham, Lincoln, Hastings and Bedford, whereas towns in the UK with a smaller population could be housed completely, four times over. These include:
| City | 2019 Population |
| Winsford | 30259 |
| Pontypridd | 30420 |
| Wishaw | 30510 |
| Deal | 30555 |
| Beverley | 30587 |
| Burgess Hill | 30635 |
| Saint Neots | 30811 |
| Ruislip | 31000 |
| Caerphilly | 31060 |
| Aberdare | 31135 |
| Thornton-Cleveleys | 31157 |
| Rutherglen | 31180 |
| Spalding | 31588 |
| Barnstaple | 31616 |
| Chichester | 31654 |
Government figures show that since 2010, 430,000 affordable homes have been built. Although UK housing charity Shelter states that there are still around 320,000 homeless in the UK, with more of half of these people being in London.
Ben Lloyd, Managing Director of Pure Commercial Finance, said:
“We deal with professional developers every day and we are well-aware of the demand for affordable housing across the UK and the influence that Brexit is having on borrowing.
“Although we would never suggest cancelling the refurbishment of such a prized national monument, we were shocked to see how matching the refurbishment budget could help towards solving the deficit.”
Polly Neate, CEO of Shelter, has also commented on the UK housing crisis:
“It is unforgivable that 320,000 people in the UK have been swept up by the housing crisis and now have no place to call home. These new figures show that homelessness is having a devastating impact on the lives of people right across the country.”
