A would-be Keighley MP has put forward his own plan for tackling housing issues.
John Grogan, who was recently chosen to fight the seat for Labour at the next general election, said he would restore a “brownfield first” policy for development sites.
And other moves would include scrapping the so-called bedroom tax.
He has drawn-up an action plan he would implement if he was housing minister, a post occupied by Keighley’s serving Tory MP, Kris Hopkins.
“The brownfield measure – which would prioritise building houses on previously developed land – would help lessen the pressure on green fields in Keighley and the villages of the Aire, Worth and Wharfe valleys,” said Mr Grogan.
“There is still enough brownfield land available to build 1.5 million homes nationally.”
He claimed the bedroom tax had caused financial misery to nearly 1,000 people in the Keighley constituency, and should be axed.
“Many of those affected are disabled people whose homes have been specially adapted for their needs, or separated parents whose ‘spare’ room is used by their visiting children,” he added.
Other measures include encouraging the development new towns nationally, allowing councils and housing associations to borrow more to build, and ensuring landlords are properly licensed and regulated.
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