SOUTH EAST CALLS FOR BIGGER SLICE OF FUNDING CAKE

The South East needs an extra nearly £400 million from Government to deliver affordable homes fit for the 21st Century, says a new report by the South East England Regional Assembly.

Calculations show that the region needs 29% more than its current three year budget of £1.37 billion if it is to meet the target of 11,200 affordable homes a year set by independent inspectors.

The Assembly this week illustrated the region's cash shortage by cutting a house-shaped cake to show our funding gap and call for a bigger slice of the national funding cake. The estimated shortfall is because the region needs to deliver more affordable homes to meet the need and of a high eco standard, and improve the quality of existing housing.

Assembly Chairman Cllr Keith Mitchell CBE said:

"We have made it very clear to Government; if the region is to remain successful we need more public investment in affordable housing. Evidence shows that simply building more homes to buy will not make them affordable. We also need money to invest in overcoming barriers to build affordable homes such as the lack of infrastructure. We want to fulfil our housing aspirations and Government must help deliver our common goal of providing more affordable homes. We don't make half-baked plans nor should Government."

Cllr Elizabeth Cartwright, Chairman of the Regional Housing Board, added:

"Without affordable homes, we risk damaging our essential services and our economic prosperity if teachers, nurses and lower paid workers are unable to afford to live in the region. We have a responsibility to meet our residents' needs and provide mixed and sustainable communities."

Contacts

Lesley van Dijk, Assembly PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Assembly Communications Director - 01483 555220
Notes to editors:

1. Photo caption: South East Assembly calls for bigger slice of the 'housing budget cake'. A cake in the shape of eco-friendly terraced homes, cut to illustrate the gap between Government funding and affordable housing targets in the South East. From left to right -

• Cllr Elizabeth Cartwright, Regional Housing Board Chairman and portfolio holder for housing for East Hampshire;
• Cllr Keith Mitchell, Assembly Chairman and Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and
• Cllr Moira Gibson, Planning Committee Chairman and Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council.

Other photos available include:

• Assembly Deputy Chair Ian Chisnall representing social and environmental sectors and vice chairs
• Cllr Louise Bloom from Eastleigh Borough Council;
• Cllr Michael Chater representing town and parish councils and
• Peter Dean representing business.

2. Making the case document - 286 KB

3. The Assembly is a partnership of councils and communities in the South East region. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the region, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.

4. The Assembly is made up of 112 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) as well as the New Forest National Park Authority.

5. The Assembly has six roles:

1. Regional Planning
   preparing and delivering the South East Plan
2. Regional Housing
   the Regional Housing Board decides housing investment priorities
3. Regional Transport
   the Regional Transport Board decides transport investment priorities
4. Advocacy
   pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels
5. Accountability
   scrutinising SEEDA's plans and impact
6. Alignment
   co-ordinating regional policies and decisions.

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

SOUTH EAST PHOTO LIBRARY

The South East England Regional Assembly's photo library MediaStore, gives everyone the chance to access images of issues affecting the region. MediaStore draws on the knowledge of the Assembly to provide you with images from all over the South East.

• regularly updated with photos covering topics from housing to transport to flooding
• easy to access and download
• fully searchable
• a wide variety of high resolution images
• there's no charge for this service, just credit the Assembly when an image is used.

To view images from across the region visit: www.southeast-ra-mediastore.co.uk

Last updated: 17 December 2007