The government will announce on Thursday it is slashing its annual South East housebuilding targets from 43,000 to nearer 33,000.
The 15-year housing plan will be put on hold and a five-year programme introduced which will take into account the concerns of local authorities and the South-East Regional Planning Conference.
Prescott will order a new consultation to be conducted county by county over the number of homes to be built. The Tories accused deputy prime minister, John Prescott, of seeking to “concrete over the countryside by stealth”.
The Times 12/12/00 page 10
