New Housing (Hansard, 18 December 1995)

§ Mr. Steen
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision is currently made for the delivery of social and economic infrastructure facilities when applications are made for new housing development. [6576]

§ Mr. Robert B. Jones
The provision of infrastructure is important in all major new developments. It has always been an important purpose of the planning system to co-ordinate new development with the infrastructure it demands.
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The fact that development plans look forward over a number of years means that those responsible for infrastructure provision influence the pattern of new development so that it takes account of likely infrastructure limitations. When it comes to an individual planning application, the adequacy of infrastructure can be a material consideration in deciding whether permission should be granted.
In certain circumstances, it may be appropriate for a local planning authority to impose a condition or seek to enter into a planning obligation with a developer to help towards the provision of social and economic infrastructure facilities where this is necessary for the granting of planning permission.

§ Mr. Steen
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new houses are to be built by(a) 2005 and (b) 2011 to fulfil projected household needs forecast by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in (i) Devon, (ii) Somerset, (iii) Birmingham, (iv) Kent, (v) Sussex and (vi) Hampshire. [6588]

§ Mr. Robert B. Jones
The Department of the Environment published "Projections of Households in England to 2016" in March 1995. These projections suggest the likely number and type of households that would materialise by county, metropolitan district and London borough by 2016, if current social and demographic trends continue.
New figures, for which these 1992-based projections will be an input, will be produced for each region and county for the next review of the relevant regional planning guidance. The next step, therefore, is for the regional conference of local authorities for each region to consider these projections and a wide range of other supply and demand factors before advising the Secretary of State on revised figures for additional housing requirements for their region and for each county, metropolitan district or London borough. The process of assessing the implications of the latest household projections is just starting.
The current figures for the authorities requested were produced with input from the 1989-based household projections, published in 1992. The current annual average number of additional dwellings proposed in current regional planning guidance for the authorities requested are:

Devon: 4,950 (1991–2011) RPG for the South West (July 1994)

Somerset: 2.500 (1991–2011) RPG for the South West (July 1994)

Birmingham: 2.050 (1991–2011) Draft RPG for West Midlands (September 1995)

Kent: 5.800 (1991–2006) RPG for the South East (March 1994)

East Sussex: 2.333 (1991–2006) RPG for the South East (March 1994)

West Sussex: 2.933 (1991–2006) RPG for the South East (March 1994)

Surrey: 2.400 (1991–2006) RPG for the South East (March 1994)

Hampshire: 6.133 (1991–2006) RPG for the South East (March 1994).

These figures are being "tested" in the preparation of the structure plan or unitary development plan for the relevant area.