The proposals will deliver a substantial number of new homes to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder and enable towns and cities to grow their economies by creating jobs and encouraging business development. Norwich’s growth proposals, for example, contain plans for 36,000 jobs, and over 130,000 jobs are planned in the East and South West regions.
The successful bids put forward by over 70 local authorities with high housing demand contain a wide regional spread from Truro to Lincoln and include major cities like Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol as well as large and small towns like Swindon, Reading and Ipswich, Grantham, Thetford and Maidstone.
These areas will share in £40m start up funding to support infrastructure, unlock sites for housing and to assess and mitigate environmental impacts. This will make them more attractive for business investment and help young people who want to stay in their home town to find a home.
The initiative is part of delivering an increase in housebuilding in England in response to economist Kate Barker’s review of housing supply which found that over the last 30 years house building rates have halved whereas over the same period demand for new homes has increased by a third.
Yvette Cooper said: “If we don’t build more homes, less than a third of today’s ten year olds will be able to afford a place of their own in 20 years time. Helping our towns and cities that want to grow can make substantial difference in delivering the new homes we need. This gives local areas the chance to provide more jobs and homes with higher design and environmental standards too.”
New Growth Points will help to concentrate future growth at existing urban centres and present an opportunity for the communities to pioneer eco-development and encapsulate high design standards in parallel with meeting the housing needs of local communities.
The three cities bid includes an exemplar low environmental impact settlement at Ashton Green in Leicester, using its own renewable energy, minimising water use and waste generation, and reducing the need to travel, as well as a new park connecting Derby city centre to the Derwent Valley.
The initiative will also be a catalyst for improving existing areas and city centres, Taunton’s proposals include the redevelopment of Somerset County Cricket Ground for international matches and other major sporting and cultural events, an extension of the Brewhouse Theatre to enable larger productions and improvements to the museum and central library.
The growth ambitions submitted have all been appraised by Government to ensure they are sustainable, acceptable environmentally and realistic in terms of infrastructure. Levels and locations of growth are subject to full public consultation, testing, and examination through local and regional planning processes.
In signing up to a new partnership for growth with the Government, local authorities will be subject to conditions to ensure that growth is sustainable including effective water supply and flood mitigation, and that the impact of potential development on infrastructure is fully understood.
