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Councils on collision course with government
12 June 2000
South East councils set to fight housing plans field by field
Commenting on today's decision by councils in the South East to reject the Government's housing proposals for the region [1], Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's Housing Campaigner, said:
“South East councils are on a collision course with the Government. In the end,Mr Prescott can impose thousands of new houses on the region. But that would be a high risk strategy, as councils and public fight the plans field by field. With the prospect of more road-building, Mr Prescott is storing up real electoral problems for the Government in the South East”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] In draft Regional Planning Guidance for the South East, published in 1998, SERPLAN (the London & South East Regional Planning Conference - composed of councils in the region)proposed that around 700,000 new homes (35,000 houses per year) should be built in the South East outside London between 1996 and 2016. Following a public examination,Government planning inspectors recommended last October that 1.1 million new homes(55,000 per year) should be built in this period. This provoked widespread controversy. In March this year, John Prescott rejected the recommendations of his inspectors and suggested that 43,000 houses a year should be built, equating to 860,000 over the same period. This proposal is out to further consultation, which closes June 19th. Today's announcement is SERPLAN's response to this consultation.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jul 2008
