Select committee report on housing supply and affordability

July 1, 2006
<p>The Commons all party housing, planning, local government and the regions select committee has released its latest set of findings. Its report on affordability and housing supply made several recommendations. It advised that the government’s housebuilding programme should “cater for a wide range of needs,” commenting: “The recent increase in two bedroom flats in town and city centres needs to be balanced by an increase in family housing.” It added that the government should do more to meet its existing targets including forcing housebuilders to bring forward sites that have been granted planning consent. It also warned that the government’s target of raising the net number of additional homes by 200,000 by 2016 may not be sufficient.</p> <p>The committee said there should be no relaxation of planning controls in the soon to be published PPS3, as this “could result in urban sprawl and undermine regeneration efforts in urban centres.” The MPs also recommended that local authorities’ power to prioritise brownfield development should not be eroded. Funding mechanisms should also be in place so that infrastructure will be ready for the first residents of a development. The report also called for a timetable for incorporating the code for sustainable homes into …

Continue reading

To continue reading this article please login or register.

Login

Forgot your password?

Register for free

Quick and free registration

Register