Architect and Channel 4 presenter George Clarke has been urged to "be a bit more sympathetic" after he launched a scathing attack on the state of new British housing.
Taking to Instagram, the 50-year-old posted a photo of a new-build housing estate and criticised the similarities it holds with other plots up and down the country.
"Another noddy-box housing development that could be absolutely anywhere in the UK," Clarke penned to his 242k Instagram followers.
Alongside a set of musical note emojis, he added: "'Little boxes on the hillside and they’re all made out of….(?)' #Housing #Architecture?"
Clarke's attitude towards the new-build houses irked several of his followers who found his tone condescending - especially given many of the buildings will have been built to ease the housing crisis in the UK as people struggle to get a foot on the property ladder.
One person quick to call Clarke out on his comments wrote: "They may be boxes, but boxes like this are all that many of us can afford that fit the size of home that we need.
George Clarke regularly presents property shows on Channel 4
CHANNEL 4
"No, they are not ideal, but not everyone can afford an individually designed home with upstairs and downstairs toilets and off road parking unless they buy these ' boxes'. Some people need these things due to personal reasons or mobility issues.
"So please, unless the people commenting could provide houses with everything people need that are more aesthetically pleasing and inkerleping with the locality, please do it...or stop criticising others!"
"As much as I don't like new builds, my kids need to live somewhere," a second echoed before a third slammed: "This entire post and comments within absolutely reek of middle-class snobbery. Just wow."
And a fourth weighed in: "And these noddy boxes are sometimes all that people can afford, be abit more sympathetic to those that have limited choices whilst the baby boomers refuse to move from their now overpriced homes!"
"You moan there’s a lack of affordable housing and you moan when affordable housing is built," another argued before Clarke's fans jumped to his defence: "George is not being a snob. Back when our grandfathers were building their own homes they were full of character and pride. These builds are all ‘the same’ without care or individuality and not necessary and certainly no cheaper. YES everyone deserves a home. Definitely."
A second shared Clarke's sentiment: "I'm so sick of seeing the fields disappearing, being replaced by dull little boxes. Instead of building c**p estates on green fields, there should be a programme of building sustainable, eco-friendly homes on brown or grey sites." (sic)
Clarke's attack on the building of "samey-looking" houses comes days after he endorsed Labour's plans to tackle the housing crisis through its "new towns" initiative.
Clarke wrote a column in The Guardian lauding the trailblazing developers who transformed the village of Washington in the northeast into a thriving town when he was a youngster.
"Washington made me the person, the architect and the designer I am today," he penned. "The radical and innovative thinking that those talented 1960s designers had when they created my hometown is in my blood and is part of my DNA.
"I’ve loved Washington all my life, I’m a proud new-town boy and I’d love to be part of the 21st-century new towns the Labour government is proposing."
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George Clarke has welcomed Sir Keir Starmer's Labour's plans to build 'new towns'
PAAccording to Labour's manifesto, so-called "new towns" are planned communities specifically designed to accommodate substantial new housing developments.
Each "new town" will comprise of at least 40 percent affordable housing - such as social and council houses - in order to hit the government's targets.
It remains to be seen if Starmer and co will be able to appease Clarke's demands for less "noddy-box" housing but Labour has pledged to focus on sustainable development and ensure the "new towns" blend in with existing infrastructure.
George Clarke's representatives have been contacted by GB News for comment on the backlash.
