Budget comment - Housing

Domenic Donatantonio, PlanningResource, 17/03/2008.

Planning experts have given a cautious welcome to the government's announcements that it has found sites for 70,000 extra homes on public land.
Consultancy Atisreal criticised the lack of co-ordination between national and local planning policies.
Development director Emma Andrews, said: “Identifying sites is relatively easy. The difficult part is delivering these sites through the planning system.
“The government may want to bring forward 70,000 additional homes, but it will be interesting to see how this will be achieved having regard to social, economic and environmental sustainable objectives.
“With the current focus on delivery, which of those three elements might have to give?”
RICS public policy officer James Rowlands said the commitment to making public sector land available for house building will only solve part of the land supply issues.
“Identifying sites for 70,000 new homes is a drop in the ocean when two million additional homes need to be built by 2016,” he said.
“Encouraging the re-use of existing buildings and allowing well-managed development on greenfield sites must also be encouraged if housing targets are to be met.”