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Foe welcomes urban regeneration, but warns of greenfield battles to come
7 March 2000
Commenting on John Prescott's announcement on house-building in the South East, Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's Housing Campaigner, said:
“John Prescott has at least stepped back from a disastrous 'let it rip' approach to housing and is giving a strong push to building more homes in towns and cities. That is welcome news.
But his plans will still mean a city the size of Southampton being built on the green fields of the South East over the next five years. That will mean more traffic, more congestion, more pollution, more problems with water resources and more local battles over greenfield housing plans in years to come.
If an urban renaissance is really going to happen, Mr Prescott must get tough with councils about empty homes. He must give a clear lead on cleaning up contaminated land. And the Chancellor must cut VAT on refurbishing and converting properties.
Better towns and cities are about more than just housing. The Government must also tackle other urban problems such as traffic congestion and pollution if it wants to make towns and cities better places to live and work”.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Mr Prescott announced that 43,000 new homes should be built in the South East every year for the next five years, a total of 215,000 over the period. Of these, the Government's target is that 60% (129,000 homes) will be built in urban areas. This leaves 86,000 to be built on greenfield sites. Southampton has a population of 210,000 which, at the average occupancy rate of 2.4 people per homes, equates to 87,500 homes.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jul 2008
