News story

13th December 2000

WESTMINSTER MEETING PLANS NEXT STEP IN HOUSING FIGHT

A crucial decision over the number of houses to be built in the West is expected before Christmas, an all-party group of MPs was told this week by leading South Gloucestershire councillor Pat Hockey at a Westminster meeting.

Cllr Hockey was briefing members of the all-party “Future Housing and Planning Group” in advance of the publication by John Prescott of the draft “Regional Planning Guidance” for the South West.

This document will contain the Secretary of State’s provisional verdict on the dispute over the number of houses which the South West should be expected to take over the 20 year period between 1996 and 2016.The South West Regional Planning Conference, a grouping of South West local authorities had reluctantly accepted a total of 367,000 for the South West as a whole, of which 67,000 would be in the former Avon area.

Even this figure was regarded as too high by Cllr Hockey and the local Liberal Democrats. However, an external panel has advocated a much higher figure of 407,000 for the region, with 74,000 in Avon. 

The all-party group of MPs has agreed to meet again early in the New Year in order to decide how best to respond to the Secretary of State’s announcement, in particular if it should come up with a higher figure than the local authorities believed was viable.

Northavon MP Steve Webb attended the meeting on Tuesday (12th December) and speaking afterwards said:

“The ball is now very much in the Government’s court.They have talked about ending the old “predict-and-provide” approach to housebuilding which created seemingly endless pressure to build more houses.

Now is the time for them to back their words with action.Very little is being done to regenerate urban areas or to make it easier to redevelop existing properties, and so the pressure on the countryside remains.

This is a vital issue for the quality of life of the people I represent.Any housing figure higher than the councils themselves believe they can cope with would not be a happy Christmas present for my constituents”.