NEW GROWTH AREAS IN EAST OF ENGLAND NEED NEW MODELS OF DELIVERY » Housing » 24dash.com

Leading independent planning movement, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), has welcomed Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the East of England published today. The RSS sets out plans to accelerate housing delivery to keep up with demand while also creating local jobs, with targets of 508,000 more homes (25,400 a year) and new jobs to reach 452,000 by 2021.

TCPA Chief Executive Gideon Amos said:
“The revised housing figures, up from 478,000 to 508,000 homes by 2021, will help tackle homelessness and meet the needs of the growing number of families in this region of the country. The recognition of the robust success of the new towns north of London as a sustainable model that can put a stop to sprawl, planning for sustainable growth and emphasising the need to meet even higher standards in future. The new Growth Point announced at Kings Lynn and the new Growth Areas at Chelmsford, Dacorum (Hemel Hempstead), St Albans, St Edmundsbury and Welwyn Hatfield must achieve higher levels of shift from private car to public transport - a move that will be aided by funding that has been pledged for infrastructure provision such as schools, hospitals and transport facilities.”

“The TCPA argued for a new settlement option in the Examination in Public of the RSS back in 2005/06 and are pleased that eco-towns could be part of a portfolio of solutions for meeting the housing shortfall in the region. Whether housing growth is within, or extensions of, existing settlements or indeed in new settlements, it must be sustainable – addressing severe regional housing shortages, tackling climate change and strengthening the economy”

In a challenging financial climate and with the need for higher standards, new models of delivery are needed according to the TCPA, which would like to see the development corporation model updated and modernised to deliver some of the development planned.

Gideon Amos added:
“In building the eco-towns of tomorrow we need not just the development corporations of the past but new collaborations of self builders, smaller developers and public sector enterprise to ensure these places in the East of England region realise their true potential.”