To coincide with the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit’s (NHPAU) annual conference today (Wednesday) [1] CPRE [2] asks: is the Government’s housing adviser up to the job?

CPRE Senior Planner Kate Gordon said:

‘On the evidence of what the Unit has done so far, they seem seriously out of touch with the real world. The housing industry is in crisis. Lack of affordable housing continues to be a major problem. Their priorities simply do not match the task at hand. Their analysis we believe to be fundamentally flawed and their recommendations damaging and divorced from the real world [3].’

NOTE FOR EDITORS

CPRE’s review of progress of the NHPAU Is the Government’s Housing Adviser Up to the Job? is available on request from the press office on 020 7981 2880 or downloadable from CPRE’s media centre: www.cpre.org.uk/news/media-centre.

CPRE’s key concerns include:

• a failure by the NHPAU to understand that we cannot build our way out of the housing affordability problem – this requires the right kind of homes to be built which respond to households’ needs, in particular for affordable housing;
• a failure to understand the crucial role the planning system plays in integrating a range of considerations and delivering development in the wider public interest;
• an incorrect assumption that a weaker planning system will lead to more homes being built – at the same time, the Unit appears not to have considered the serious environmental consequences of weakening the planning system;
• a call by the Unit’s Chairman, Professor Stephen Nickell, for incentives to encourage councils to allow development – CPRE believes decisions on proposals should be based on sound planning principles, not financial inducements;
• a failure to recognise that housing supply problems stem from unstable and unsustainable arrangements in the development industry and have very little to do with the planning system.

Kate Gordon continued:

‘For the NHPAU to be effective, it needs to recast its priorities and engage with real issues, not abstract theories. The Government’s three million homes target looks increasingly unachievable. Yet the NHPAU suggest a higher rate of housebuilding should be considered, significantly above what is already planned. This is contrary to advice given by leading economist Kate Barker who has called for supply to be more responsive to the market, arguing targets should be cut during a market downturn. [4]’

Kate Gordon concluded:

‘We urge the Government to review the Unit’s role and remit so that it can play a more effective part in helping to meet the nation’s housing needs while protecting the environment.’

Among the crucial questions CPRE is calling on the body to consider are: What is the best way of meeting society’s housing needs? How can new homes be provided in ways that bring the greatest benefits to society while minimising environmental damage? With the downturn in the housing market, how can we secure the affordable homes we need in places where they are needed?

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) was formerly launched in June last year. Their remit was to advise on housing affordability matters following Kate Barker's recommendation. Their annual conference takes place 2 July at Church House Conference Centre, Dean’s Yard, Westminster.

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

3. Last October, the NHPAU called for 270,000 homes a year to be built in England by 2016. This compares to a target of 240,000 a year by Government and 200,000 new homes actually provided last year. In their latest advice, the NHPAU advocate housebuilding ranges to be tested (Meeting the housing requirements of an aspiring and growing nation: taking the medium and long-term view, June 2008). These range from 240,000 homes a year (230,000 net additions) to 297,000 homes a year (276,000 net additions) up to 2026. The figures have been fiercely criticised by regional assemblies for their lack of realism. The higher ranges would represent massive increases in housebuilding in many regions, with 49,700 new homes a year proposed for the South East (compared with 28,900 planned).

4. Barker Review of Housing Supply, Final Report (2004). While giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee in July 2004 Kate Barker said: ‘There are points in the review where I stress very clearly that you might start out with an intention to build X in an area and two years down the line what has happened in the market has suggested to you that X was too big and you should cut the target.’