Earlier this year John Prescott, The UK's Deputy Prime Minister,
unveiled plans to build 100,000s of new homes in south-east England, to tackle a severe shortage of affordable homes.
The plan identified four key areas for housing developments (1) The
London-Cambridge-M11 corridor (between 250,000 and 500,000 new homes), (2)
Milton Keynes (up to 300,000 new homes), (3) the
Thames Gateway (up to 40,000 new homes) + (4)
Ashford (up to 31,000 new homes).
Many NGOs, including the
RSPB, are disappointed that the although there will be a requirement on new social housing to meet
Eco-homes “Pass” standard they will not have to meet tougher “
good” or “
excellent” standards, and that it
does not cover the private sector housing. They are also concerned that “infrastructure-led development” in the Thames Gateway may include the proposed
Cliffe Airport (which has been vigorously opposed by local branches of the
Woodland Trust, the
RSPB +
Council for the Protection of Rural England) and that the
government has failed to insist on increased energy efficiency,
reduced water use and other tried + tested
sustainable construction technologies.
For further reading see the
WWF's
One Million Sustainable Homes ("the typical home built in the
UK requires a total of more than
3.5 times the of energy of a home built in
Germany or Denmark"), the
Sustainable Homes website and the deliberations of the
Commons Committee stages where the
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill has been discussed prior to moving on to the Houses of Commons and Lords later this year...