§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many houses his Department expects to be built in the South-East and East Anglia regions in(a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [117786]
§ Mr. RaynsfordPlanned levels of housing provision for these years is already set out in development plans. Proposed changes to the draft Regional Planning 609W Guidance for the South-East and East Anglia were published on 27 March and are now subject to consultation. Final RPG is likely to be in place in autumn 2000, following which local authorities will consider the need to review their development plans. Whether, and when, they need to make changes to their plans will depend on the rate of provision in existing plans, the period the plan covers and the revised rate of provision for their area for the future. For the South-East, the latter will be determined by the distribution of the total, on which I am consulting local authorities through SERPLAN.
§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he had with South-east county council leaders before deciding that housing targets for the South-east would be set on a five yearly basis. [117793]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe intention to introduce a "plan, monitor and manage" approach to planning for housing at the regional level was announced in "Planning for the Communities of the Future" (Cmnd 3885) in February 1998. It has since been the subject of wide discussion and was reflected in the consultation draft of Planning Policy Guidance note 11 (Regional Planning) published in February 1999. Under this approach, the annual average rate of housing provision set out in the draft changes to the Regional Planning Guidance for the South-east is on-going but subject to monitoring and review at least every five years, and sooner if necessary. I am currently consulting local authorities, through SERPLAN, on the proposed changes to the draft RPG.
§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what forecast his Department has made of the effect on car traffic in the south-east in terms of mileage of journeys undertaken of the building of 215,000 additional dwellings by 2005. [117790]
§ Mr. RaynsfordIt is not possible to provide a reliable forecast. The housing needs in the south-east region outside of London derive in very large part from the needs of the people who are already in the region and those migrating into it from London. Any forecast of the additional car journeys generated by an additional 215,000 dwellings to cater for these needs would have to take account of the additional journeys generated by separate rather than shared households. Our policy is for development to be located as far as possible within existing urban areas, with more mixed use development and using sites which have ready and convenient access on foot, by cycle and public transport, thereby reducing the dependency on car travel. The net effect could be a reduction in additional car journeys compared with what would otherwise be the case.
§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what forecast his Department has made of the effect on total water consumption in the south-east of the building of an additional 215,000 dwellings in the south-east by2005. [117791]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe housing needs in the south-east region outside of London derive in very large part from the needs of the people who are already in the region610W and those migrating into it from London. Any forecast of water consumption associated with an additional 215,000 dwellings would need to take account of the additional consumption generated by households living separately rather than sharing accommodation while allowing for improved water conservation measures in new development. In view of the uncertainties involved my Department has made no forecast. However, draft Regional Planning Guidance for the south-east (RPG9) emphasises that local planning authorities need to take water resources into account when identifying land for development or redevelopment, working closely with the Environment Agency and the water industry.
§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his Department estimates to be the available brownfield land for development in the south-east; and what proportion of this he expects to be available for housing development. [117785]
§ Mr. RaynsfordProvisional estimates from the National Land Use Database were published in the DETR/Government Statistical Service Press Notice of 20 May 1999 and reflect returns made for 1998. They show the total amount of previously developed land reported by local authorities and how much of this was allocated in plans, had planning permission for housing or was judged suitable for housing by local authorities. The estimates do not show how much of the land was available for development. They are a snapshot and take no account of the future supply of previously developed land or changes to planning policy introduced by the new Planning Policy Guidance note 3 on Housing. The relevant estimates for the SERPLAN (including London) region are 15,730 hectares of previously developed land of which 9,320 hectares (59 per cent.) were judged suitable for housing.