On 30th July 2024, Minister for Housing and Planning Matthew Pennycook MP, circulated a letter to Housing Industry Stakeholders, detailing the Government's plan on housing.
The Eastern Powerhouse responded with our views and recommendations on the wholistic approach we strongly believe is required for the plan to succeed:
Dear Minister,
RE: Building the homes we need (response to your letter of 30 July 2024)
The Eastern Powerhouse welcomes your ambition to transform housing delivery across the United Kingdom, and we have set out below several opportunities that can deliver housing growth in the East of England. The east is already one of the strongest economies in the country but has significant housing hot spots and areas of deprivation, which can be linked to a poor housing and transport strategy over many decades. The Government’s proposals to reform planning and housing delivery in the East of England must recognise that the current Local Plan mechanism has failed and that new solutions must be applied.
Green Belt and Grey Belt
Almost all of the Green Belt in the East is to be found around Cambridge and around London’s urban core, extending into large areas of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex. The Eastern Powerhouse appreciates the ambition to build on Grey Belt land, but to bring forward the development ambition that has been shown in the recent Case for Cambridge document by Peter Freeman, Green Belt land will have to be utilised. Our view is that Green Belt land should be designated as land for development, and we welcome the government’s recent announcements to strengthen local authority powers to compulsory purchase greenbelt land at affordable prices.
This will enable Government to capture land value for wider social benefits. There has been extensive work carried out by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority which shows how Land Value Capture (LVC) can deliver significant infrastructure funding. The public will be more inclined to accept large scale housing development if high quality infrastructure is provided. LVC offers a financially viable pathway to the funds necessary for growth at scale. By designating Green Belt land for development, Government can capture the major uplift in land value, rather than the landowner.
Spatial Strategy
The Eastern Powerhouse has consistently campaigned for a Spatial Strategy that covers the whole of the eastern region. It is patently clear that the local plan system here has failed to deliver the housing necessary to meet Government targets. Furthermore, local plans can often result in housing being built in the wrong place. The east needs a spatial strategy that takes a regional view, links housing to transport corridors, and emphasises the importance of regional growth. Development along the innovation/tech corridor, connecting London, Stansted Airport, and the science clusters in Stevenage, Cambridge and Norwich should be at the heart of this growth agenda.
Spatial Strategies are very difficult to bring forward without government intervention and the Minister should consider such an intervention to bring local authorities to the table. Business members of the Eastern Powerhouse have consistently backed a 25-year spatial strategy for the east and the Eastern Powerhouse is well placed to help government deliver such a plan. Government has suggested using Combined Authorities to deliver spatial strategies, but this simply would not work in the east. With only one CA, the east would be at a severe disadvantage in comparison to large Combined Authorities covering densely populated City Regions. Government must form a regional solution for the east.
A spatial strategy does not mean the end of local plans. By combining local plans into a single overarching document, it will make local plans more deliverable. Local Plans by their very nature can prove isolating, particularly in less affluent council areas. A well-formed spatial strategy would improve housing delivery through local plans. The east needs an inclusive spatial strategy that works for the whole region, utilising the rail network and delivering investment to our most deprived communities. An inclusive regional spatial strategy will bring authorities together and allow them to understand how regional growth can offer mutual benefit.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure development - including road, rail, energy, and water – is vital to building new homes and accommodating population growth. Poor transport is a major inhibitor of growth – the nearest motorway to the east coast of England is in Holland. The Case for Cambridge has also stressed the urgent need for new reservoirs to realise growth plans in the East. We have highlighted, above, how LVC can contribute to improvements to infrastructure investment.
At the same time, we must make better use of existing infrastructure to deliver new homes and realise the opportunities for growth. During the past few months, the Eastern Powerhouse has spoken with local authorities across the region about developing sites around railway stations for housing and business use. We have identified a number of sites that are most advanced, and our research has shown that thousands of homes could be built alongside new business hubs, on or adjacent to railway station sites in the East of England.
Simple changes to the train timetable could provide new commuter routes and promote housing delivery. For example, Manea in Cambridgeshire is on the Ely-Peterborough line and 28 minutes from Cambridge North Railway station. Menea offers more affordable housing - a four-bedroom home in Manea costs £1m less than a similar home in Cambridge. However, trains currently stop at Manea station every two hours. A simple change to the timetable could deliver several thousand new and affordable homes within commuter distance of Cambridge. We have also written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh about this.
Whilst the Eastern Powerhouse rightly campaigns for upgrades to the rail network in our region, there are subtle changes that Government could make for very little cost that would deliver new homes.
Summary
The Eastern Powerhouse would like to thank you for including us in your consultation. We would appreciate the opportunity to work alongside you to deliver sustainable housing growth across the East and contribute to your ambition for faster delivery, more affordable housing, and increased investment in training as well as fair, secure work for all.
Yours sincerely,
James Palmer
Chair
Eastern Powerhouse
Bình luận