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SEEDA Welcomes Government's Commitments to Infrastructure
in Response to the Barker Review
06th December 2005
Commenting on behalf of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Chief Executive of SEEDA, Pam Alexander, said: "Housing supply in the South East is of critical importance to the region's productivity, sustainability and international competitiveness. Business continues to experience high house prices and lack of affordable homes for their employees. We therefore welcome the Government's focus on providing the infrastructure that is needed to deliver new homes in sustainable communities and its promise of support for affordable homes, as a pre-condition of new developments.
"We believe that we can help relieve pressure on those areas where housing demand is highest by regenerating areas of lower demand, such as our coastal towns. We are currently in the middle of a comprehensive review of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), which we have been undertaking through an extensive consultation exercise with partners and stakeholders across the region. The RES Consultation Document, which we published last month, contains our own analysis of future housing requirements in the South East. It also focuses on mechanisms for increasing productivity levels and encouraging people who are not currently working back into the workforce – two factors which could contain the need for new homes in the South East. The new RES will be available in spring 2006.
"We also welcome the consultation on mechanisms for capturing increases in land value and emphasise the importance of ensuring that the money raised through any new measure such as Planning Gain Supplement will be allocated to the appropriate local or strategic infrastructure in order to support the delivery of the development and the creation of sustainable communities.
"Finally, we welcome the Government's focus on quality and sustainability, in particular the value of design codes, the new code for sustainable buildings and the intention to open up more green space in new developments and bringing derelict sites back into use. We actively practice these principles and our award winning Chatham Maritime project is an exemplar of construction excellence, achieving high EcoHomes ratings."
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