Regional Priorities For Affordable Housing

Housing policies and planning for land use are undergoing a major change.

Housing policies and planning for land use are undergoing a major change as the British Government presses ahead with its programme for regional government in the United Kingdom on lines harmonising with administrative structures exemplified by the European Union's Committee of the Regions.

The next step in this unfolding process was to be the establishment of elected assemblies in the eight English regions outside Greater London, but this has met with a decisive rebuff in the North East of England where in the outcome of a democratic referendum this development has been brought to a sudden halt.

But by no means will this bring to a halt the regionalisation of housing and planning as advocated in Kate Barker's reports on Housing Supply.

The unelected assemblies which were introduced in the English regions as a step on the way remain in place to preside over the direction of the house-building industry's resources in accordance with the Government's priorities for affordable housing.

This is made clear in the Northern Way initiative recently launched by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in alliance with the three Northern regions of England.

Among other things it aims to set targets for affordable housing as a proportion of all schemes for new house building.

This is backed by the massive £38 billion funding agreed with the Treasury to support the Sustainable Communities Plan in the eight English regions, chiefly directed to the development of affordable housing over the next five years.

If private house building is to be maintained at its present volume, the Government's plan argues a major expansion in the industry's output when it is already running close to full stretch.

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