Conservative councillor Mieka Smiles has slammed Angela Rayner's plans (Image: Getty)

       Well knock me down with a feather - it seems that Angela Rayner’s plot to concrete over England’s beautiful greenbelt is not quite going to plan. The Deputy PM initially came out all guns blazing, blasting nasty NIMBYs with her mad scheme to cover the countryside with 1.5 million new builds.

       Yet as the days, weeks and months grind on, it’s quickly becoming glaringly obvious: this isn’t going to happen. And really, is anyone surprised?

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       There are a number of reasons why the experts are predicting Ange is not going to hit her ambitious targets - from there simply not being enough brickies to build them through to planning approvals dropping to a 10-year low. But by far the biggest reason is what all sensible Brits already know: new build houses simply don’t cut the mustard.

       Now, I’m not being snobby here. I have lived in a number of new build houses myself - and when done properly they can be brilliant homes. They are, however, increasingly not.

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       Take where I live - on the outskirts of a big town - as a prime example of this. You can walk around one modern estate - constructed around 20 years ago - and appreciate its well-designed and spaced-out homes and glorious greenery. It’s a beautiful illustration of how such estates can be aspirational and executed remarkably well.

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       Fast forward to today, however, and the difference is stark. The neighbouring estate, which was started just 10 years ago, feels a world away. The workmanship in places is downright shoddy and we are still eagerly awaiting the promised ‘woodland trails’ that I now fear will never come to pass. God only knows what the next iteration, coming to a field near you soon, will offer.

       Don’t just take my opinion on this as the data is proving it. Overpriced, soulless new builds being crammed here, there and everywhere are - surprise - not what people want. New research by estate agency Hamptons found that only 31% of new homes sold in England and Wales were bought before completion last year, which compares to 49% in 2016. Meanwhile David Fell, of Hamptons, said off-plan sales were at their lowest since 2012, reports the Telegraph.

       He said: “Nationally, fewer new homes finding a buyer before they’re built has hit housebuilders hard. It is unlikely that the level of off-plan sales being agreed is sufficient for the Government to get close to its 300,000 homes a year target, given that housebuilders rely on this forward funding to progress on site.”

       Oh dear. And it gets worse.

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       The new data follows a study by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published last year that found a rise in the number of homeowners reporting issues with new-builds.

       It’s important not just to criticise from the sidelines and offer no solutions. God only knows that it’s a terrible travesty that people under the age of 40 are probably more likely to see a flying pig than be able to buy their own home in much of the country. As a Conservative, I think home ownership should be one of our central tenets. It fosters personal responsibility, encourages hard work, aspiration and creates stable and thriving communities.

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       Throwing up new build boxes on the edges of town doesn’t help young people. Perhaps a genuine Help to Buy Scheme which encourages first-time buyers to purchase properties in town centres - that we all know are desperate for a boost - rather than lining developers' pockets is one way forward.

       Or perhaps we insist that developers deliver on the desperately needed infrastructure that’s almost always missing - parks, roads, schools, community centres, GP surgeries. Not bland estates and broken promises.

       Because until then, Angela Rayner’s big housing dream is just a cookie-cutter development in the sky. And deep down, we all know it.