Housing Minimums Unsustainable

07/08/08 Housing Minimums Unsustainable - Regional Assembly

Government proposals to change housing targets into minimum requirements could harm the environment and stretch transport, schools, energy and water supplies to breaking point, says the South East England Regional Assembly's planning committee.

Newly-elected planning committee Chairman Cllr Moira Gibson (Conservative) has written to Housing Minister Caroline Flint calling for certainty on the number of homes expected from local authorities. She also wants extra homes built in one year to count towards future years' targets.

In its response to the Assembly's South East Plan, a planning vision to 2026, Government says that annual housing targets are now the minimum each council should deliver. However, Cllr Gibson argues this would prevent realistic assessments of the environmental impact of new homes and the infrastructure they need.

Cllr Gibson said: "A target should be a long term goal not a starting point. Otherwise the South East Plan housing allocations could be significantly exceeded, without the impacts on infrastructure, the environment and the community having been tested."
"Government could be creating unnecessary problems by saying the targets are minimums and not allowing authorities the flexibility to spread housing delivery across a number of years. This will prevent councils planning properly for the future and will create unsustainable developments."
There is also cross party support from new planning committee Vice Chair Cllr Jerry Patterson (Lib Dem). He added:

"Apart from problems with sustainability, minimum housing targets are unrealistic in a struggling economy. Local authorities can grant planning permission for new homes, but have no control over whether or not the developers ever build them."

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