1. Next week (w/b 20 August) the independent Panel which examined the draft South East Plan [1] is expected to report its findings.  The key question is the extent to which a coherent Plan has survived: whether the housing numbers [2] have increased and distribution of development has been changed is central to this.

2. The pressure for new housing in the South East is more intense than in any other region of the country and poses a serious challenge to the character of its countryside.  The importance attached by the Panel [3] to the sustainable development of the South East and to the quality of life of its inhabitants is also vital.

3. The Examination in Public conducted roundtable discussions into the draft Plan on selected matters chosen by the Panel.  There was no legal representation, with a maximum of 25 participants each session.  There were also preparatory meetings on specific topics.

What issues were examined?

• Overall strategy – soundness and consistent with government guidance, other regional strategies, sustainability; levels of development; links between development and the economy;
• Topic specific issues e.g. housing, waste;
• Deliverability – capacity, water and transport;
• Critical infrastructure priorities; and
• Sub-regional spatial distribution.

4. CPRE South East Director Edward Dawson comments: ‘this has been the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of the state of the South East ever undertaken.  CPRE applauds the efforts and scale of work undertaken by the Panel, and the open manner in which they did their work.  We hope the core aspects of the Plan are supported by the Panel.’

5. The draft Plan recognised that the housing needs of the region for the next twenty years present a key challenge in delivering a sustainable future.  It grapples with the need to plan for this dynamic regional powerhouse, in ways which respect its environment.  This South East is the greatest generator of wealth outside London and contributes significantly to the economy.  The Plan is an attempt to meet the social needs of decent homes and sustainable communities, while building on this prosperity and seeking to protect and enhance the environment.

6. The draft Plan identifies nine areas in the Region and concentrates growth within them.  Growth areas are included as well as at Milton Keynes, Ashford, the Thames Gateway and South Hampshire; the Isle of Wight is a Special Policy Area.

7. The final Plan will be a major influence over the scale and pattern of economic growth and housing over the next 20 years and will become the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) replacing the Government’s Regional Planning Guidance (RPG9).

8. CPRE has worked closely with the Regional Planning Body – the South East England Regional Assembly - to try to get the best result for people in urban and rural communities, while protecting the countryside for the future.  The issues are complex, and the Plan sets out to bring together some of the most difficult challenges facing the region:  housing, transport, water supply and climate change to name a few. 

CPRE concerns

9. CPRE remains concerned that the Plan is trying to meet housing needs for people outside the region as well as for those within.  The scale of the Plan is already a huge challenge, as was clear during the EIP.  Levels of development above this may not be sustainable, with huge pressures on existing infrastructure, such as transport and water supply, and it could destroy large areas of valued countryside.  While  CPRE recognises that house prices are too high for young people to buy their own homes, much of the answer lies in increasing affordable housing particularly in many rural communities, where younger people currently have to move away to buy their own homes.

10. CPRE is also worried that too much development could bring traffic chaos to the roads, overcrowding in schools and longer hospital waiting lists, unless there is enough funding for infrastructure and public services.  The quality of life is at risk unless this is properly dealt with. Overdevelopment could damage Green Belts, the surrounding countryside and our environment generally. Retaining the integrity of Green Belts is even more essential in view of recent suggestions that such land should be used for development.  Our suggestion of a challenging 75% brownfield target for new housing made at the EIP would assist this.

11. We will be examining the report carefully to make sure the new policies work.  We continue to work closely with the Regional Assembly and listen to what people in the region have to say.  The regional planning process of finalising the RSS needs to be completed without delay.

What we are doing

12. CPRE has worked hard on the process of developing the South East Plan, at all stages.  At the Examination in Public we were the most well represented environmental group attending 45 out of 48 sessions and had a high profile. Attendance at the table sessions was by invitation only.  CPRE was pleased to be able to make such extensive contributions to the debate.

13. We supported a focus on making towns attractive to live in so that we do not need to destroy our countryside to build houses.  We have worked hard to protect the Green Belt and to avoid urban sprawl avoid the urban environment encroaching on open countryside.

14. We have promoted high quality design and appropriate housing densities to prevent urban development encroaching into the countryside.  We have campaigned for more houses to be built on brownfield sites so that we have sustainable urban communities where people want to live.

15. CPRE will study the Panel recommendations, particularly those concerning the sub regions, in detail.  We will explain why it is important to meet the region’s housing needs in ways which save the region’s countryside, now and for future generations.

What happens next?

16. The Examination in Public Panel Report provides the most comprehensive independent assessment of the state of the South East and the spatial planning options for the next 20 years.  There is no public consultation on the report.  The implications of the report will need to be considered in detail by all parties.

17. The Government is expected to publish its proposed changes in the light of the Panel Report later this year [4].   These changes will be subject to be public consultation.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The South East region covers Kent, East and West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It is second only to London in terms of Gross Domestic Product per head, and is the most prosperous of the regions (www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan/index.html and www.eipsoutheast.co.uk).

[2] Housing in the South East region is also amongst the least affordable. It includes towns and cities with large pockets of deprivation requiring regeneration, with substantial ‘brownfield’ sites for house building.  Nationally, the Government has plans to secure 70,000 new affordable homes a year by 2010-11, with around 25,000 being for affordable home ownership.  In total, ministers expect to see 240,000 new homes in England each year by 2016.

[3] Who are the Panel? Chair, Corinne Swain; and Planning Inspectors: Martin Shaw and Mary Travers.  Additional expertise provided by Technical Assessor: Peter Burley on Thames Basin Heaths SPA.  Hearings were held between 28 November 2006 and 30 March 2007 in Woking, Chichester, Maidstone and Reading.

[4] The timetable currently stands as follows, but may be subject to change: 31 July 2007: EIP Panel Report recommends changes; 21 September 2007: After considering EIP Panel Report Government publishes proposed changes; 21 September 2007 to 14 December 2007: Government holds public consultation on proposed changes;  December 2007 to February 2008: Government Office considers responses to the consultation; 29 February 2008; final RSS9 published by Government setting planning framework for the South East.