Wrangle over housing plans for North West England
Countryside campaigners have voiced concern that the Government's proposed changes to the regional plan for North West England do not endorse the stance of the independent panel of inspectors' who reviewed the spatial strategy and recommended a ceiling on the level of house building.
The Government has argued that having a ceiling would inhibit proposals for additional growth in housing provision in the region. The inspectors who chaired the examination in public of the regional spatial strategy (RSS) said: "It would be unwise to plan for ... a net increase of between 25,000 and 29.000 dwellings a year."
The inspectors warned that "the environmental capacity of the region to sustain this amount of development has not been tested".
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has complained that the proposed changes to the regional spatial strategy (RSS), now out for consultation, send out mixed messages.
Andy Yuille, CPRE's regional policy officer for the North West said: "Some promising commitments have been made about protecting and enhancing the environment, but these are quite vague. Increases in housing numbers threaten to undermine them to the detriment of the region's environment."
Baroness Andrews, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities said: "We need a vision in the North West that tackles climate change, addresses housing shortages and strengthens the region's economy.
"This draft regional strategy sets out that vision for the North West's future. It is important that local views and all who are interested in the future development of the area take this opportunity to comment before the final report is published."
Roger Milne
27 March 2008
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