Shafik Meghji,
Regen.net,
18 July 2008
The Government's plans to increase housing targets in south-east England are "unacceptable" and probably undeliverable, a partnership of local councils and private and voluntary sector stakeholders has warned.
Building 662,500 homes in the region between 2006 and 2026 would threaten to "destroy" the balance between housing growth on the one hand and providing decent infrastructure and protecting the environment on the other, the South East England Regional Assembly argued.
Paul Carter, its new chair, said: "It is unacceptable to increase housing numbers to a level that threatens to be undeliverable - particularly in the current economic climate.
"The Assembly's original target of 578,000 homes [in the South East Plan] was agreed after three years of extensive research and consultation. First it was increased by [independent] inspectors to 640,000 and now we're faced with yet another increase."
But planning consultancy Barton Willmore said the plans "failed to meet housing needs in the region". It said that a total of 760,000 homes would need to be built in the region by 2026 if the Government's overall target of 3 million new homes by 2020 were to be achieved.
The Government described the rise in the number of houses as "modest". Communities minister Parmjit Dhanda said: "If more homes are not built now for the long-term, the housing ladder will get even further out of reach, leaving the next generation with nowhere to live."
Consultation on the document closes on 24 October, after which a final revision of the South East Plan will be produced.
A full copy of the document can be viewed at www.go-se.gov.uk
