An influential report into the draft East of England Plan has called for 505,500 new homes to be delivered in the region between 2001 and 2021, a hike of 27,500.
But the figure is substantially less than the government’s latest projections : in March of this year the government’s household projections for the East of England called for 575,000 new homes in this period.
However, today’s panel report following the examination in public of the draft plan targets a reduced figure.
The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) was quick to back the recommendations while calling on government to recognise the limits of housing growth in the region and to commit to funding for necessary infrastructure.
Cllr John Reynolds, chair of EERA’s Regional Planning Panel. said: “Although the panel has recommended some increase in the amount of housing beyond that proposed by the Assembly, we welcome the panel’s strong message to government that their proposals represent the limit of what can be delivered sustainably and that substantial funding for supporting infrastructure and public services must be provided.”
Elsewhere the report:
· calls for employment targets to be increased by 18,500 new jobs from 421,500 to 440,000
· supports the draft Plan’s approach of aligning new housing with job growth with a focus on existing urban areas in particular
· calls for a regional co-ordinating body to produce a region-wide implementation plan including a prioritised infrastructure budget
· recommends a simplification of the sub-regions used in the plan with four sub-regions remaining – Thames Gateway, Haven Gateway, Cambridge, London Arc
· calls for the designation of major urban settlements as Key Centres for Development and Change
· recommends green belt reviews at Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Harlow, Welwyn/Hatfield and locally in Broxbourne
· recommends additional growth in the major urban centres of Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough
· endorses EERA’s proposals for growth in new towns of Basildon, Harlow and Stevenage to assist with regeneration, but recommends excluding growth to the north of Harlow and at North Weald.
The government will publish its proposed changes to the draft plan later in the year following consideration of the independent panel’s recommendations.
There will be a period of public consultation on the proposed changes before the final East of England Plan is adopted by the government in spring 2007.
References: EGi News 22/06/06
