Sustainable communities plan takes shape
The government's ambitious plans for the Thames Gateway and other growth areas in south east England have begun to take shape now ministers have announced the scale of initial funding and where it will be targeted.
In the Thames Gateway, five priority areas have been identified where £330 million will be spent over the next three years. This funding will be used for a total of 100 projects designed to open up key development sites in East London, Greenwich-Woolwich, Barking Reach, Thurrock and North Kent-Thameside.
In addition, the government has earmarked £136 million for three other growth areas: Milton Keynes-South Midlands; London-Stansted-Cambridge; and Ashford.
Ministers have also confirmed the creation of Urban Development Corporations in Thurrock and East London although the detail of their planning regimes has not been settled yet.
At this stage, Whitehall has not outlined any new measures for requiring developer contributions. However, this is unlikely to emerge until after the Office of the Deputy Prime Minster (ODPM) publishes its latest thinking on s106 agreements later this year.
These announcements, together with new arrangements for the disposal of surplus public land and news of a joint English Partnerships/Housing Corporation competition to develop 56 sites in former new towns, drew a mixed response.
There was a general welcome for the government's confirmation of its commitment to press ahead with plans for 200, 000 new homes but disappointment at the absence of clarification on such issues as the level of affordable housing and densities.
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) warned that the objective of creating sustainable communities could be undermined "if a fair share of rising land values are not captured through early control of key areas of land by the public sector."
TCPA director Gideon Amos said: "If we fail to capture a fair share of value for taxpayers and ratepayers, the Communities Plan may do little more than create a new sprawl of ordinary housing estates and a new generation of landlord multi-millionaires who find their property holdings worth millions as a result of the new strategy."
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott MP insisted: "The money I am allocating will help kick-start the process of turning Europe's largest collection of brownfield sites into living, breathing communities where people are proud to belong."
He added: "But we are being careful to ensure that growth is properly managed and we stand by our commitment to maintain or increase the green belt and stop the profligate use of land."
Roger Milne
31th July 2003
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