Inspectors' Report

Independent inspectors delivered their assessment of the South East Plan on 29 August 2007 following an Examination-in-Public. Daily summaries of the proceedings can be found on our EiP day-by-day pages.

Planning inspectors gave the South East Plan a clean bill of health on 11 out of 12 key topics. They praised the Assembly's pioneering work on infrastructure, climate change, water resources and joint work with the regional development agency on a single delivery plan. The inspectors recommended the region builds 32,000 homes a year until 2026, instead of 28,900 a year proposed by the Assembly.

Recommendations for extra homes have been cautiously accepted by the Assembly, provided Government funds vital extra infrastructure. The Assembly also strongly supported the report's findings on affordable homes, which back the argument that Government funding not mass building is needed to make housing more affordable.

The report can be downloaded in full from the Government Office for the South East website.

Summary and Response

The Assembly's Response (press release)

Assembly summary of the report - 296 KB

The Panel of Inspectors

The inspectors appointed by Government to examine the Plan were:

• Corinne Swain MBE (chair)
• Martin Shaw OBE
• Mary Travers
• Sue Morgan (secretary)

Timetable

A number of locations around the regions were used. The timetable was:

Further Information

• EiP Resource Pack
  Includes answers to key questions, an editorial item for use in newsletters or magazines and information on the timetable, process and panel.
• Panel of Inspectors Website
  The website of the EiP panel includes a document library and minutes from panel meetings.