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Housing Plans Recipe for Urbanisation of East of England
6 February 2004
Government promises to protect green belt land and give more powers to regional bodies were smashed yesterday when the East of England Regional Assembly caved in to Lord Rooker's demands to accept 500,000 new homes in the M11 corridor and beyond, reaching from north London to the Wash by 2021 [1].
The Government is believed to have exerted pressure on the region to increase its housing targets with a special meeting held between Lord Rooker, Minister for Regeneration and Regional Development held before the Regional Assembly met [2]. The Regional Assembly accepted the proposals, but demanded conditions on funding for the environmental and social infrastructure needed to maintain and ensure the quality of life of people in the region.
Friends of the Earth East of England Regional Campaigner Mary Edwards said:
"This decision is a recipe for the urbanisation of the countryside in the East of England on a massive scale. These new houses will inevitably be on green belt land, spilling out into the wider countryside, because there are very few brownfield sites in the region. This development will not just mean new houses- new infrastructure will be needed as well, unleashing transport chaos in the region. John Prescott's fervour for development in the region will destroy our environment and our quality of life."
Friends of the Earth called for people in the region to be consulted on the proposals. An Examination in Public of the Regional Planning Guidance 14 has been delayed until spring 2005.
Notes
[1] www.eelgc.gov.uk/eelgcDocs/Regional%20Assembly/050204/Item1.doc
[2] www.eelgc.gov.uk/eelgcDocs/Regional%20Assembly/050204/ ¬
Item1%20Annex%201.doc
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
