News Release : 20 January 2005

YOUR SHOUT - HELP SHAPE THE REGION’S FUTURE

South East citizens can help shape their future and influence planning for houses and economic growth for the next 20 years, says the South East England Regional Assembly. Over 3 million households will receive a questionnaire in the next two months and can tell the Assembly how they want to see the balance between homes, jobs, congestion and the countryside. It is the first time that consultation on such a scale has taken place in the region.

The South East Plan, 20-year planning vision for the region, will be published on Monday 24 January for a 12 week-consultation. The draft Plan will impact on housing, transport, energy, waste and health and will set the framework for councils to prepare their local plans.

South East citizens are generally well-off thanks to our strong economy, but choices made now will affect life in the South East for the next 20 years. Impacts to consider:

  • Building too few homes may threaten economic success and public services if workers cannot find anywhere to live in the region

  • Building too few homes may mean further rises in house prices and homelessness

  • Building too many homes may use up land unnecessarily

  • Building too many homes may mean more congestion and a bigger impact on our environment.

Key aims of Plan:

  • Opportunities for everyone to be successful – reducing the social and economic gap between the east and west in the region (eg invest in areas with more need such as coastal towns, Thames Gateway and Milton Keynes)

  • More and better quality homes

  • Improve access to services such as education, jobs, shops and health facilities

  • More sensible use of our natural resources such as water, energy, waste and land

  • Maintain and improve economic growth in a sustainable way

  • Improve people’s health and quality of life.

Delivering these aims depends on major investment in infrastructure. The draft Plan sets out investment needs in an implementation plan. This is the first that there has been an implementation plan for the region.

The consultation draft South East Plan will be submitted to Government in July 2005.

As part of the consultation process, nearly 6,000 people have been interviewed in the region over the past year to identify key issues and their priorities.

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive- 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Head of Communications - 01483 555220


Notes to editors:

  1. The draft South East Plan can be viewed on this website from Monday 24 January 2005.

  2. The South East Plan is a document setting regional priorities and guiding the production of local plans and strategies on critical issues affecting all of us, such as housing, transport, waste and development. It will also help share best practice between different areas of the region that face similar problems and cover the period to 2026. The Plan will impact on the whole South East, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.

  3. Public consultation on the Plan will be from 24 January until 15 April 2005. Three topics have already been consulted on in 2003 and 2004: transport, renewable energy and tourism.

  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.

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