§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his oral statement of 7 March 2000,Official Report, column 865, on planning, what number and density of dwellings was used in the calculations underlying his conclusion that his new housing targets would use no more land than the SERPLAN proposals. [117796]
§ Mr. RaynsfordEvidence submitted by SERPLAN at the public examination into the draft Regional Planning Guidance for the South-East indicated that for sites in progress or not started the average density of housing development was 26 dwellings per hectare (dph). Planning Policy Guidance note 3 (Housing) makes clear that local authorities should avoid planning for developments of less than 30 dph and encourage developments between 30 and 50 dph. It is also our policy to maximise the contribution that conversions can make to the dwelling stock. If local authorities in the South-East follow the guidance in PPG3, it will be possible for them to achieve the average annual rate of provision of 43,000 dwellings per annum without taking more land than implied by the SERPLAN total of 36,000 dwellings per annum.