Aug 15 2006
Commenting ahead of the CPRE’s publication How much land is your local council wasting? expected to be issued today Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, said:
“Almost 75% of new homes have been built on brownfield land which is well above the government set target of 60 per cent.
“There are large areas of brownfield land which could be developed now but new houses can’t be built unless there is money to pay for supporting infrastructure like roads, schools, flood defences and community facilities.
“The government’s proposed planning policy on housing is deeply worrying because it could reduce the priority previously given to the use of brownfield land for building new homes.
“The proposals could lead to developers being able to cherry pick Greenfield sites for building new homes from the five year supply of land that councils would be obliged to identify as land that could be developed.
“For thirty years central government housing targets have failed to increase the supply of housing. It’s now time to give councils the freedom to identify and find solutions for local people’s housing needs. Whitehall can’t respond to the needs of different people in different locations, only local councils have this ability.”