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Press Release

MPs Wrong To Back Fantasy Housebuilding Target

February 24, 2009

An influential committee of MPs today (Tuesday) publishes a report Housing and the Credit Crunch [1]. This follows their inquiry into the effect the credit crunch is having on the Government’s housing policies.

CPRE’s [2] Senior Planner Kate Gordon said:

‘We welcome some of the Committee’s recommendations, such as building and refurbishing more social homes, for which the need is urgent.

‘But we are disappointed that it is backing the Government’s damaging housebuilding targets. No-one in the industry seriously believes the national target of three million homes by 2020 can be met.

‘Pursuing this target will lead to greenfield land being allocated needlessly for development – developers have been trying to reduce the size of their landbanks, not increase them. The losers will be the countryside and urban areas where regeneration has stalled because they can no longer attract the investment they need in order to thrive.’

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Further information about the report Housing and the Credit Crunch is available from the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, telephone 020 7219 0718.

2. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk



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Campaign to Protect Rural England

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