1m New Homes "Needed in the South East"

A million new homes cuold be built in the South East over the next 20 years, according to plans published by the Government yesterday.
Proposals from the South East England Regional Assembly had suggested 28,900 homes should be built every year in the region until 2026.
But the Government has hired an influential firm of consultants, Roger Tym and Partners to come up with its own suggestions.
Their controversial proposal, published quietly yesterday, calls for up to 17,100 extra homes to be built in the region every year.  If accepted, it would mean 46,000 new homes a year for the next two decades.
However, lobby groups fear the beauty of the region, which encompasses Kent, West and East Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and the Isle of Wight, could suffer.  Critics also worry that the region would struggle to cope with such an influx of residents.
Meanwhile, a report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England claimed yesterday that Kent residents have less than half the water which would be available to them if they lived in Rwanda.
South East regional director Edward Dawson said, "There really is a limit to the amount of development the South East should be expected to take.
"The Government should look at the resources across England as a whole which should include making better use of the swathes of homes, buildings and derelict land that lie unused."
He warned that swathes of countryside could be lost, road and rail congestion might increase and further strain could be placed on water supplies.
The Assembly spent more than two years coming up with its 20-year South East Plan. It was submitted to the Government in March. It looks at issues including transport, the economy, protecting the environment and housing.
Assembly Chairman Keith Mitchell said of the consultant' proposals: "This is back of the envelope stuff compared to the robust evidence base developed by the Assembly."
Yesterday the Goverment insisted that the consultants' prpoosals are " not a statement of Government policy"
They will be discussed at a meeting in November, known as the Examination in Public. which is an opportunity to debate the plan in public.
The final South East plan is not expected to get Government approval until 2008.

Daily Mail
Becky Barrow - Property Consultant

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