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30 Nov 1998
Britain's growing traffic and housing crises could both be tackled
in one bold move, a new report from Friends of the Earth reveals today.
Government forecasts say 4.4 million new households may be needed in
England by 2016.Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has said that two
fifths of these households may be built on greenfield sites - threatening
precious greenbelt, wildlife areas and countryside all over the country.
Meanwhile, our towns and cities are clogged up with private cars.
The solution? Build homes where the car parks used to be.
The report, by planner David Williams of consultants Tellus 42, estimates
that there are 6,800 public surface car parks in England, providing
738,000 spaces. These car parks take up about 1,850 hectares - an area
the size of a London Borough.
In most of our town centres, too much land is used for car parking.
In King's Lynn, Norfolk,for example, one fifth of all town centre land
is used for parking spaces. But almost one in four public town centre
car parks in the FOE survey usually have empty spaces. Quarter of a
million new homes could be built in the 432 hectares taken up by these
under-used car parks.
This would help regenerate towns and cities, cut the need for greenfield
housing and make local councils money as the rents and rates payable
on these sites would rise sharply. If half of all surface car parks
were developed for commercial and residential use, total rates revenue
could be up to £1 billion a year. This could provide much needed
investment capital for economic and social regeneration.
The FOE survey concludes that “the sympathetic development of
these sites would improve the local environment and restore the attractive
character of these lively and historic areas... Developing car parks
... could also dramatically improve the environment of our streets,making
them safer, cleaner and releasing roadspace for other civic and social
activities”.
Of the 140 local councils who took part in the survey, 14 said that they would definitely like to take part in pilot projects to redevelop the car parks for housing. They are:
Commenting, FOE Transport Campaigner Roger Higman said:
“All over the country, our town and city centres are blighted
by concrete prairies,and choked by private cars. The thousands of hectares
of under-used car parks are a gross waste of land, that could be used
to provide much needed housing,meeting social need and raising new money
for economic and social regeneration. Meanwhile our precious greenfield
sites are threatened by new housing developments. Local councils could
kill two birds with new homes by releasing car parks for housing. Government
and Councils must start working together to make this a key part of
a new green housing and transport plan for Britain.”
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
