Three years of partnership working to agree a 20-year planning vision for the South East could be jeopardised by proposed funding changes, says the South East England Regional Assembly.

Responding to Government consultation, the Assembly Executive Committee argued (20 October) that proposed changes will undermine the principle of balanced planning by making new funding dependent on the speed and quantity of house building alone.

Government suggestions for a new Housing and Planning Delivery Grant, based on how many homes each local authority can deliver, ignore the need for planning that balances well designed housing with environmental protection and infrastructure delivery. They also ignore that many delays, especially to large developments, are outside the control of local authorities.

Assembly Chairman Cllr Keith Mitchell said:

"The South East England Regional Assembly has risen to Government's challenge of delivering a statutory regional plan through sheer hard work by all our members and partners. It is unacceptable that this could be undermined by ill-thought-out changes to funding criteria.

"The Government is sending mixed messages to those at the frontline in delivering new housing; on the one hand they are promoting good quality design and better all-round communities; on the other hand, they are judging us on speed and numbers - this just doesn't add up."

He added:

"Linking local authorities' future funding to housing delivery will encourage them to push for lower figures that are easy to exceed --but this itself undermines the idea of a regional spatial strategy that carefully balances housing figures with environmental protection, regeneration needs and infrastructure requirements."

Contacts

Lesley van Dijk, Assembly PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Assembly Communications Director - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

1. The Assembly is responding to a Government consultation paper from the Department for Communities and Local Government on Housing and Planning Delivery Grant.
2. The South East England Regional Assembly is a regional partnership with 112 members representing local authorities as well as social, environmental and business sectors.
3. The Assembly was established by South East local government in January 1999 to provide a representative voice for the region, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
4. Assembly members include elected councillors from the region's 74 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) as well as the New Forest National Park Authority.
5. The Assembly has four key roles:
• Advocacy
  Pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels.
• Accountability
  Scrutinising the plans and performance of regional bodies such as SEEDA to align the region's priorities.
• Regional planning
  Preparing and delivering the South East Plan - the 20-year statutory plan for the region that sets the framework for the sustainable development of the South East.
• Regional policy
  Advising Government on the co-ordination of regional strategies and spending priorities for housing, transport, planning and economic development to improve the impact of public expenditure.

Our vision is for a distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities, with a high quality of life and environment.

Last updated: 21 August 2007