Archived decisions

A RESPONSES TO CONSULTATION PAPERS (1) SOUTH EAST PLAN : CONSULTATION ON "A CLEAR VISION FOR THE SOUTH EAST" AND
(2) CONSULTATION ON THE GREEN PAPER - SOUTH EAST REGIONAL HOUSING STRATEGY 2006-09

1. The Cabinet has responded to two important consultation documents which relate to planning policies in the South East.

2. The Regional Assembly's Consultation, "A Clear Vision for the South East" comprises eleven discussion papers identifying key issues across the Region with topics ranging from, for example, economy and employment to natural environment and resources, all brought together under the umbrella of a strategic issues paper. These papers can be seen at www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan. Rather than attempting a detailed critique of the papers the Cabinet felt that it would be more appropriate to look ahead to the next stage of draft plan preparation by alerting the Assembly to topics which the County Council fears may, on current indications, be inadequately or inappropriately addressed. The Cabinet suggests that the overall aims of the South East Plan should be to maintain and improve quality of life in the Region, to foster more sustainable communities, and to create new ones. Whilst housing and economic growth will be necessary, the Cabinet contends that these should not be the only drivers of the Plan. The response submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of the County Council is available on request but it broadly welcomes the discussion papers and makes a number of key points on specific issues in line with the general approach mentioned above; these include:

· endorsement of the principle of developing a vision for the South East Sub-Region as advocated in the papers, but emphasising the need to include all local authorities in the Sub-Region in this activity and expressing concerns at the tight timetables involved.


· advocating the adoption of a more integrated approach to urban and rural regeneration;


· emphasising the need for robust evidence to support the perceived need for increased growth;


· pressing for a stronger focus on long term regional and cross boundary transport issues, and the need for proper levels of transport investment;


· urging a wider and more in-depth consideration of strategic biodiversity and landscape matters;


· highlighting the need to take account of inter-relationships with London


· requesting that greater recognition be given to climate change and water resources issues with, in particular, increased emphasis on the importance of groundwater flooding as an issue.

3. As regards the document "South East Regional Housing Strategy 2006-09", the Regional Housing Board has to develop a strategy that will influence how housing is delivered in the South East Region in the longer term, and has produced a Green Paper on the topic for consultation. As its vision for the Region, the Green Paper states that the highest priority is to seek a better match between housing supply and demand, and that the Strategy should maximise the impact of resources to that end. It contends that this means increasing the supply of new housing, not only in the growth areas, but also elsewhere where homes are needed to support economic growth and sustainability, and tackling affordability so that more people can access housing and afford to live near where they work. The Green Paper examines the issues, options and implications for 17 topic areas and raises questions about each topic. Some of the issues discussed are more relevant to housing authorities, and the Cabinet's response therefore concentrates on the main issues of importance to the County Council. These include

· advocating a balanced approach to funding with some resources going to the growth areas and other strategic sites such as Hampshire's major development areas and the Aldershot Urban Extension, and the remainder allocated according to need and the ability of the authority/Sub-Region to meet that need;


· suggesting that 30-35% of the funding available for distribution by the Regional Housing Board be targeted at key workers;


· highlighting the fundamental issues/problems relating to infrastructure;


· making suggestions for promoting high quality design and sustainability.


As with the other consultation paper, the full text of the County Council's response is available on request.