Archived press release

Government housing free-for-all slammed

5 December 2005

The Government's new housing plans will have a disastrous impact on the environment, Friends of the Earth warned today.

The environmental campaign group has slammed two documents published today by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minster. New planning guidelines will allow a massive increase in house-building in areas, such as the south east, which are already suffering the effects of over-development. And much-heralded plans to reduce the impact that new houses have on the environment are likely to be completely ineffectual. The Government Code for Sustainable Building is too weak, and it is voluntary, rather than compulsory. It is therefore likely to be ignored by most private builders.

Friends of the Earth's Planning Coordinator, Hugh Ellis said:

"If the Government's housing plans go ahead, they will encourage a huge house-building free-for-all in areas that are already over-developed. And any hopes of ensuring that they are built to high environmental standards disappeared when the Government watered down its sustainable building code, and then made it voluntary, and not compulsory. Once again the Government's green credentials are in tatters."

"There needs to be a more integrated and considered approach which provides housing solutions for everyone across the country and protects the environment. If the Government is serious about dealing with housing poverty it must dramatically increase its investment in affordable housing and not destroy the important safeguards of the existing planning system."

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has published two documents today:

Planning Policy Statement 3 contains plans for housing provision based on the Barker report's recommendations. This means housing will be provided on the basis of price not social need. Areas of high demand will grow in line with market forces with no regard for the social or environmental consequences. This means not just a massive expansion in the four growth zones around London but also new growth points outside these areas, creating even more problems for transport and social infrastructure as well as threatening the environment. At the same time as these pressures intensify in the south east, housing in the north of England is being demolished because of low demand.

The Government Code for Sustainable Building also launched today is meant to drive up standards of energy and water efficiency in new homes. But the code is only voluntary and will have little or no effect on private builders. The result will mean a huge increase in the demand for water and lead to major increases in climate change emissions. New housing development can be carbon zero and could, with the right technology, even result in a net surplus of electricity.

Friends of the Earth believes social housing, including support for the homeless, must be a key Government priority but PPS 3 will not provide this. The new proposals will also dismantle the planning system, leaving no way of making sure housing is built in the most appropriate place and to the highest environmental standards.

Notes

The Barker Report - Review of Housing Supply `Delivering stability: securing our future housing needs' Final Report, Kate Barker, March 2004

The Barker report recommends bypassing the planning system, leaving urban policy to be driven by market forces rather than social need. Areas such as the south east will come under even more pressure for new homes and associated developments such as roads. But very little of this will be for people with the greatest housing need. The effect of Barker on communities in the north will be equally serious, as investment which should be delivered there will flow to the south. The Barker report will force local authorities to release more land for housing when land prices rise, encouraging growth where there is currently growth.

The Barker Report would see housing land allocated for development based on price signals, bypassing important safeguards which should ensure such development is both sustainable and democratically controlled. While the report would result in much greater housing provision above the Government's existing targets and so stabilise house price inflation it will not help people in severe housing poverty.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust