Is Britain's housing future a green one

New Year, new property debate. The theme this time Well, it's all about the green belt.

The Adam Smith Institute recently published a report in which it claimed that by freeing up just 3.7% of green belt land surrounding London (i.e. all the land within a 10 minute walk of a train station), there would be space for a million new homes to be built - and London's housing needs for the next decade met, as a result.

Pretty clever stuff that, as I think most will expect, hasn't gone without its fair share of criticism. The green belt is always a contentious issue because, as much as we Brits love our home ownership, our countryside is a prize possession which we (not unduly) vehemently guard.

While I will not venture into whether or not I agree with the suggestions put forwards (doing so, I fear, would place me in one line of fire or another), what I will venture to say is that the Adam Smith Institute has raised a very poignant issue - and one that cannot go much longer ignored.

This is that the UK - and particularly London - is facing a housing crisis. The average cost of a home in London is now over £550,000 (the average for the UK is around £250,000) and while the average age of first time buyers is now 36, over a third (37%) no longer intend to buy their own home.

But, the Institute argues, there's more...

If those who have succumbed to the idea of renting for the rest of their lives think they have got away from this growing issue, they may have to think again. Indeed, in 2005, it was found that tenants in London's West End paid an additional 8.37% in rent due to local planning difficulties - which, given London's record high rates, is definitely not small change!

The cherry on the cake, according to the report, is that the status quo has rendered the London property market, in particular, extremely volatile - meaning that while having a roof over our heads (whether we own it or not) is getting increasingly expensive, those that have made it on to the housing ladder are by no means in possession of a safe bet when it comes to their investment.

While a plethora of solutions to this issue have been put forward by various organisations over the years, what this most report highlights, once again, is that we are in desperate need of more housing, both in the capital and throughout the UK.

London's population alone is expected to reach 9 million by 2021 - and a whopping 10 million by 2031. With only 15 years to go between now and hitting the double figures, it will be interesting to see how the incoming government deals with the housing issue.

*Eddie Goldsmith is Chairman of the Conveyancing Association and Senior Partner at Goldsmith Williams