News Release : 19 February 2004

PRACTICE GUIDES FOR FAST TRACK PLANNING

THE SOUTH EAST ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSEMBLY IS LAUNCHING TWO GOOD PRACTICE GUIDES for the planning and housing sector to help create a consistent approach to studying the region’s housing needs. The two guides, published jointly with the Government Office for the South East, provide planning and housing professionals with a ‘fast track’ planning reference.

Assessing Urban Housing Potential
This guide is aimed at people who prepare and use studies of urban housing potential. It includes South East specific guidance for the next round of strategic and local studies, and complements the Government’s ‘Tapping the Potential’ guidance. The urban housing guide includes a common process for undertaking local studies in 14 steps. Key steps that are included are:

• Develop a monitoring process alongside the design of the study;
• Define the boundaries for settlements to be examined in the study;
• Examine physical surveys;
• Determine individual site and non site-specific assessments.

Housing Needs in the South East
The housing needs guide explains how to prepare and use local housing needs assessments. The Housing Corporation helped preparing the guide which sets out best practice on 20 key elements, advice on procurement and use of housing needs assessments. The following issues are covered in the guide:

• Definition of housing need, ‘backlog’ of existing need, the annual flow of newly arising need;
• Definition of ‘affordable’ in terms of local incomes and house prices/rents;
• Migration and aggregation;
• Vulnerable groups and Black and Minority Ethnic Groups;
• Best practice on procurement.

Mike Gwilliam, Director of Planning and Transport at the South East England Regional Assembly said: “These good practice guides will help support local authorities and others in the region to develop their assessments of need and potential on a more consistent basis.
“ All the lessons from recent studies and research have been incorporated in both guides. They will give hard pressed professionals a quick and easy reference point to help their work.”

Colin Byrne, Planning Director at the Government Office for the South East added: “These are crucial pieces of work which will enable us to build up a more accurate and consistent picture of housing need and urban capacity across the region. They are vital building blocks in addressing the growing housing shortage in the South East.”

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The good practice guides on housing are available in the Housing Section of this website. Hard copies are also available from the Assembly at a cost of £15 (incl. VAT).
2. Baker Associates prepared the Urban Housing Potential guide and the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research helped developing the Housing Needs in the South East guide.
3. The South East England Regional Assembly prefers to use the term ‘potential’ rather than ‘capacity’.
4. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
5. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
6. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007