WEDNESDAY 29
NOVEMBER 2006
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOUSING THE
New family friendly housing policies
announced by the Government today were welcomed by the Town and Country
Planning Association (TCPA) as a key benchmark to secure quality in the drive
to deliver thousands of urgently needed new homes.
The Government’s vision for more and better
housing, set out in the new planning policy statement, will give local councils
more powers to influence their local housing market, subject to
higher sustainability standards in the face of climate change.
The TCPA welcomed the encouragement of more
houses with gardens, which are good for families as well as the environment,
but stressed that local authorities will need extra resources in order to raise
design standards and respond to market pressures.
TCPA Chief Executive Gideon Amos said:
“This is a major step forward. Giving a clear
lead on higher design standards, whilst giving more flexibility to local
communities on how they wish their towns and cities to develop, sends
absolutely the right signal to housing providers, planners and developers.
“The Government has rightly removed crude and
artificial measures such as centralised rules on density, and the shape of development locally, in favour of the opportunity to tackle climate and biodiversity head on whether
this through is urban, suburban or new settlement development.
“While a certain number of smaller flats are
needed, especially in response to the growth in single person households, these
are currently dominating the market leaving little choice for families with
children. For this reason, we welcome the proposal for local authorities to
determine housing densities and brownfield use. In
terms of attempting to control housing production in detail the Government is
right to allow the private sector to determine their own product to meet local
market conditions whilst making more detailed demands of subsidised housing.
“It is right to devolve more responsibility to
local authorities to develop tailor-made policies to suit the needs of their
own communities. However, this must be in the context of clear national
priorities which set out how best to meet the twin challenges of housing need
and climate change. ”
New environmental standards for housing are
necessary to create the economies of scale needed to boost new climate-proofing
technologies, as well as lowering fuel bills and improving quality of life and
the environment overall.
The TCPA also welcomed the new
flexibility for councils and developers in determining urban form – whether new
towns, or urban extensions for example, and a move away from a crude sequential
test. However, the condition on this must be that all forms of development meet
high sustainability standards tested through Strategic Environmental
Assessments, which will be set out in further detail in forthcoming climate
change policy.
As a social justice and
environmental charity, the TCPA campaigns for more homes to be built to tackle
homelessness and social exclusion. However, as well as achieving higher
environmental design standards, new homes must also cater for different social
needs, including that of families, as well as older and disabled people.
Key factors fuelling household
growth, which is causing a housing shortfall on a scale to match the pensions crisis, include our aging population, a growing number
of single person households, and rising divorce rates.
At least 200,000 new homes are
therefore needed each year to tackle the spectre of homelessness and social exclusion. This is a
significant increase on the current rate of just 170,000 per year being built.
In addition, around 80 per cent of new homes currently being built are one and
two bedroom flats, which fail to contribute towards creating mixed communities
or meet the particular needs of children.
The TCPA continues to warn however accompanying
studies required from local Government on
Notes to Editors
MEDIA CONTACT: KIRSTEN GOGAN 020 7930 8903 / 07952 545355
1.
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent
charity working to improve the art and science of town and country planning.
The TCPA puts social justice and the environment at the heart of policy debate
and inspires government, industry and campaigners to take a fresh perspective
on major issues, including planning policy, housing, regeneration and climate
change. Join the TCPA at www.tcpa.org.uk
2.
The Government’s new
planning policy statement for housing (PPS 3) was published today and is
available from the DCLG web site: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2304
3.
The latest update of Housing the Next Generation
was prepared by LSE and