Housing and Regeneration News November 2007

The government plans to spend £1.7billion between 2008 and 2011 on housing growth plans. Four Housing Growth Areas will benefit, as will as the ten proposed eco-towns. £30million will go to the Community Infrastructure Fund.
Plans on the proposed Planning Gain Supplement have been shelved, with a new standardised tariff introduced instead. The tariff will be part of the forthcoming Planning Reform Bill.
The Treasury has announced that the budget for England’s Regional Development Agencies will be cut by 5% in real terms. Alistair Darling made the cuts as part of a wider move to channel funding into transport, health and education.
According to survey for the Dept for Communities and Local Government, residents in the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Scheme areas believe that graffiti, vandalism and car crime are less of a problem than they were three years ago. For the figures see Neighbourhood Management: An Overview Of the 2004 And 2007 Round 2 Pathfinder Household Surveys which can be found on our publications section.
A report by the University Of York claims that as a result of high house prices and rising interest rates, 24% of young working households have little chance of buying a home locally. In areas like the South-West more than half are priced out of the market. The report also points out that renting privately is significantly cheaper than buying. The report’s author said “this new analysis reveals that the cost of private renting is much cheaper than the cost of buying. As far as the supply of affordable housing is concerned, the rented sector is an important part of the solution.” For more information see Can’t Buy: Can Rent – The Affordability of Private Housing in Great Britain on our publications section.
A report by housing consultancy Nevin Leather Associates claims that some neighbourhoods in Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders still have a high number of empty homes, high population turnover and poor environments. A spokesperson from the Dept for Communities and Local Government said “we will continue to invest in Housing Market Renewal alongside growth, but we will need the programme to provide greater focus on areas where there are deep-seated structural problems, whereas the larger cities are now experiencing significant market uplift”. For more information see Transition to Transformation: One Year On – on our publications section.
The government has dropped its system of ‘floor targets’, which were set up as a minimum standard across England for issues such as housing for vulnerable people. The targets will be replaced by locally negotiated standards. The government hope the changes will simplify the system and devolve power from central government.
The government’s environmental advisors Natural England have warned that green belt land may have to be sacrificed to meet government targets. The government wants to build 3million homes by 2020, and plans for 900,000 to be built on Brownfield land and 100,000 on surplus public land. Natural England claim that building on Brownfield sites or in urban areas can harm biodiversity and restrict urban green space. For more details see Housing Growth and Green Infrastructure on our website.