‘Rethink housing goals’ says Environmental Audit Committee

Source: Exec Digital UK

Date :03/11/2008 15:57:00

The ‘Greener Homes for the Future?’ bill has stated that, in the light of the credit crunch, the government needs to re-think its plans to build three million new homes by 2020.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), made up of MPs, has stated that in the current climate the government should scale back its plans for new developments, and needn’t build on Greenfield sites so extensively. The findings have been welcomed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

"Government targets for house-building are intended to make homes more affordable by increasing supply, but these ambitious targets were agreed in a time of economic optimism and easy credit” said Tim Yeo, Chairman of the EAC. “Clearly the assumptions on which the three million target was based must be reviewed in the current climate. This is an opportunity for the Government to place environmental concerns at the heart both of targets and planning regulations for new housing."

The report suggests the government increase the proportion of the target built after 2016, when more stringent regulations come in, demanding that all new homes are ‘zero carbon’ with the same regulations as the current proposed ‘eco towns.’

However, Minister for Housing, Margaret Beckett, responded by stating "Now is not the time to scale back on long term ambitions because of current economic difficulties. We need to be ready for the recovery and be able to meet long term demand for homes from first time buyers and families which is not going to go away."