East Of England Panel Report: Another Nail In The Coffin For The Government’s Sustainable Communities Plan

22.06.06

‘In rejecting the concept of a London to Peterborough growth area, this report deals another welcome blow to the Government’s ill-conceived so-called Sustainable Communities Plan. But over half a million new homes in the East of England over the next two decades pose a major threat to the region’s environment.’

That is the initial reaction of the Campaign to Protect Rural England [1] to the Panel Report into the draft East of England Plan released today (Thursday). The Plan will determine the scale, shape and speed of development in the region to 2021 [2].

The Panel Report removes the London-Peterborough growth area, saying it has little coherence in functional, geographic or economic terms. Focusing development on this growth area would have ruined historic landscapes and countryside character, and led to massive loss of Green Belt. Lawrence Wragg, Chairman of CPRE East of England, said:

‘It’s now time for the Government to recognise that a top-down approach to development does not work – and Secretary of State Ruth Kelly’s response to this Plan will be a key test of her department’s commitment to sustainable development.

‘The challenge of accommodating major growth without damaging the region’s environment remains. Constraints on water are particularly severe, with the Panel Report calling for all new development to secure at least 25% savings over current levels of water consumption. CPRE will be working hard to ensure that the level and location of development in the region safeguards the countryside and natural resources, and makes best use of existing developed land.’

Some aspects of the Panel Report welcomed by CPRE:

• questions Harlow North and North Weald, Essex as major development areas;
• removes damaging road schemes from the Plan;
• supports a ‘brownfield first’ approach to development; and
• maintains the existing extent of the Green Belt around the Thames Gateway growth area east of London.

But while the Panel Report talks about the importance of the environment, it recommends building more houses than were in the original plan: 505,000, up from 478,000, up to 2021, and adds Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn and Hatfield as new areas for major expansion.

Lawrence Wragg concluded:

This scale of development poses a major threat to the beauty and character of the region’s countryside and should not be accepted without further detailed consideration of the environmental implications.’

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