Greens accused of blocking tens of thousands of homes in furious row with Labour - but Zack Polanski says he's 'proud' of councils that stop construction of 'luxury' buildings
Zack Polanski's Green Party has been accused of blocking the construction of tens of thousands of homes across the country in a furious row with Labour.The Greens have attempted to block at least 42,000 new homes - including at least 13,000 affordable homes - since 2018, according to new analysis by Labour.Mr Polanski's party has been accused of trying to block housing across 25 council areas - including efforts to stop an 'eyesore' car park being turned into 300 homes in Exeter.In London, 'NIMBY' Greens have been accused of opposing the construction of 1,700 new homes, including 340 affordable homes, in the Lewisham Shopping Centre redevelopment.And Labour claims the Greens opposed the development of 5,000 homes, including 2,200 affordable homes, near Finsbury Park in North London.In Durham, Green members 'submitted strong objections' to a housing development outside the city centre.Ultimately their opposition was unsuccessful, with the first tenants moving into the new affordable homes in 2024.Labour accused the Greens of being 'a party of blockers who consistently stand in the way of much-needed progress on house building'. Speaking at the launch of the Greens' local elections campaign on Thursday, party leader Zack Polanski rejected Labour's accusations as 'nonsense' Mr Polanski's party has been accused of trying to block housing across 25 council areas - including efforts to stop an 'eyesore' car park being turned into 300 homes in ExeterAnd the party said the figures are likely to be 'just the tip of the iceberg' and claimed there are 'thousands more cases of opposition to housing developments from the Greens right across the UK'.But Mr Polanski furiously hit back at Labour's claims and attacked Labour-run councils for too often approving 'luxury, unaffordable buildings that no one is ever going to live in'.Speaking at the launch of the Greens' local elections campaign on Thursday, Mr Polanski rejected Labour's accusations as 'nonsense' and challenged the Government over the 1.5million new homes they have promised across England over five years.He noted how a Labour-sponsored van - emblazoned with the message 'Greens have opposed 42,391 homes and counting' - had been parked outside the south-east London event.'We know that the Labour Party have hired a van today with a big number on it,' the Green leader said.'I don't know where they've got that number from and it seems like an absolute nonsense number.'And I make the wider point that I think people in this country want to see a Labour Government actually delivering the homes that they promised, rather than hiring vans to be outside Green Party conferences.Mr Polanski, who is hoping to steal council seats off Labour at the contests across England on 7 May, added: 'We do have a housing crisis but what we also have is an affordability crisis.'It's about making sure we build the right homes, at the right price, and at the right place.'What we see far too often with Labour councils is the building of luxury unaffordable buildings that no one is ever going to live in.'They often knock down communities or destroy communities that are already there, in the name of regeneration, but don't actually replace the homes with affordable homes or council homes.'I would reject the premise, first of all, that there's any sense Greens are blocking any more debelopments than any one else is.'Second, I would say if a development is being blocked because it's an unaffordable luxury development - then I'm proud of any Green Party council that does that.'We need to make sure we are building the homes that people actually need, that are fit to live in, that are affordable and accessible.' Labour Party chair Anna Turley said that 'Zack Polanski's Greens say one thing and do another' and accused the former hypnotherapist and his supporters of being a 'band of hypocrites'.She added: 'Polanski and his party have shown time and again that with Green councillors, you'd be lucky to see a single brick laid, no matter how desperately residents need somewhere to live.'
