Measures proposed by the Policy Exchange in a report [1] published today (Wednesday) would fail communities and lead to extensive loss of countryside throughout England, say campaigners, CPRE [2].

Kate Gordon, CPRE’s senior planner, said “It is difficult to find anything sensible in this report. Mass migration from north to south is the last thing struggling areas need.  It would widen, rather than narrow, the gap between north and south. The message of this report seems to be that it really is grim up north and that it will continue to be so.’

The report advocates ‘significant liberalisation of land use in London and the South East' and major expansion around London, Oxford and Cambridge. This would lead to major loss of countryside, overdevelopment, congestion and create swathes of car dependent urban sprawl. Development on this scale is likely to breach environmental limits since the South East is Europe's most congested region which already faces acute water and sewerage supply constraints.
 
Kate Gordon concluded:

‘Rather than scrap regeneration programmes, and encourage residents to abandon their communities and move south as the report proposes, the aim should be to improve services, public transport and jobs opportunities in areas where these are in short supply. This will both improve quality of life in towns and cities and protect the countryside’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Cities Unlimited: Making Urban Regeneration work is available from http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/ 

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.