The front of the card: 10 Downing Street's door beneath a canvas banner reading ‘Welcome to your new home, Andy’, an empty lectern on the step and the Downing Street cat beside it
SIGNED BY THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE

Andy Burnham’s New Home Card

Now, let’s talk about everyone else’s home.

Britain faces a housing crisis, a nature crisis and a climate crisis. The sensible move would be to solve all three together, creating homes and infrastructure for everyone while protecting our green spaces and environment.

Add your name to Andy’s card and leave him a welcome message.

We’re in this Sunday’s Observer.

Val P.Belper
Jason C.Kilburn
YOUR DOORSarah B.your town
SJManchester
Val Parry ParryEdenbridge

Val P. in Belper just signed

Step 1: paint

Fill the gap in the street

Pick your door colour

Painted teal – the street above repaints too.

Step 2: put a name on it

The door reads Sarah B. · your town – exactly what the card shows. Nothing else is ever printed.

Step 3: through the letterbox

160 characters left

Collected on behalf of the Community Planning Alliance. Your name and town appear on the card; your postcode and email never do.

Two hazel dormice looking out from a hollow in a tree trunk

The nature crisis

Our green spaces are under threat.

Unfortunately, the previous occupant of No 10 did not do a particularly good job. Despite two years of planning deregulation:

  • Housebuilding has actually slowed and is way off target.
  • Nature, our human and economic life-support system, continues to decline.
  • Unnecessary housebuilding targets are set to absorb the UK’s entire carbon budget.
  • Farmland is lost forever to data centres, solar farms, warehouses, roads and pylons, while almost half our food comes from overseas.

Communities are cut out of the planning system, and anyone asking for a better way is branded a blocker. It’s time to take action.

Britain lights up, door by door

Every town is a doorway. It lights the moment its first signer arrives. Towns only, never addresses.

Your town isn’t lit yet? Be its first door.

Turn to your town on the card →

The card, and why

Dear Andy,

Welcome to your new home. The housing crisis you’ve inherited won’t be solved by paving over the countryside; it’ll be solved by building the right homes in the right places.

Here are three key principles for your new government that will get you off to a great start.

Plan for local need, not national targets.

Housing numbers built on local evidence and genuine need, with real investment in genuinely affordable social housing.

Brownfield first. Greenfield last.

Capacity for over three million homes already exists in brownfield land, empty homes and unbuilt permissions.

Reverse the Grey Belt rules.

Protect all green spaces; 87% of the UK public want more protections for nature.

Sign Andy’s card