Have your say on the future of the East of England

The public are being asked for their views on how the region should grow and develop over the next twenty years in a consultation being launched by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) today (2nd September 2009).

The consultation will help EERA to develop a new target for the number of new homes and jobs to be planned for in the region between 2011 and 2031.

In this first stage of consultation, EERA is seeking responses to four different approaches to housing and economic growth as follows:

Scenario 1 - 26,060 new homes p/a – continuation of existing target and broadly based on the views of local councils in the region.

Scenario 2 - 30,100 new homes p/a – promotes growth in areas identified by the Regional Scale Settlement Study published in January 2009. Chelmsford would grow to be a regional city, three medium-sized new settlements of up to 20,000 homes located in Central Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and either Uttlesford or Braintree – and smaller increases in Peterborough, Suffolk and the rest of Essex.

Scenario 3 – 29,970 new homes p/a – promotes growth around successful business locations where new jobs are attracting workers. Additional growth is spread over many districts but with a particular focus on Hertfordshire, south Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Scenario 4 – 33,650 new homes p/a – promotes growth where households are projected to grow. It is based on long-term trends such as people living longer and people moving to the region. It focuses the majority of additional growth in Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Scenarios 2-4 will test the Government’s view that more homes are needed in the region although EERA has already rejected the highest end of the range of new homes being proposed by the Government – about 39,000 new homes a year.

EERA Regional Planning Panel Chairman Cllr Derrick Ashley said: “We need to plan for new homes so that first-time buyers, young families and others in housing need can buy or rent a home at a price they can afford. Businesses also need the confidence to invest in our region.

“But we also want to protect the environment and the quality of life for existing and future residents of the East of England. New development must be appropriate and supported by Government investment.

“We will look closely at all the responses to the consultation before publishing, in March 2010, a detailed plan for how many new homes are needed up to 2031.

“Although there may be changes to the planning system in the years ahead, the evidence gathered will be valuable for the continuing need to plan for new jobs and homes.”

The consultation is part of a wider review of the East of England Plan which covers important issues such as transport, the environment, energy and waste as well as new homes.

The revised East of England Plan will not be completed until 2011 and the public will have further opportunities to have their say. It is the responsibility of local councils to determine the exact locations of where new homes should be built through their local development frameworks.

Fifteen consultation events are being held across the region beginning at the Forum in Norwich at 7.15pm today (2 September). A place can be booked online at: http://events.eera.gov.uk/conferences/ or contact Jayne Cole, Conference Organiser, EERA, 01284 729405, jayne.cole@eera.gov.uk

The events are being held at 7pm (unless stated otherwise) as follows:

September
2nd The Forum, Norwich, (7.15pm)
3rd Essex Records Office, Wharf Road, Chelmsford
8th Central Bedfordshire Council Chamber, Priory House, Chicksands
9th Robinson House, Hertfordshire Development Centre, Six Hills Way, Stevenage
10th Robinson College, Grange Road, Cambridge
14th Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough
16th Endeavour House, Russell Road, Ipswich
17th The Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn
22nd Luton Borough Council, George Street, Luton
23rd The Council Chamber, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea
24th The Council Chamber, Thurrock Civic Centre, New Road, Grays
29th Harpur Suite, Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford
30th Commemoration Hall, Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire

October
2nd The Maltings, Ely, East Cambridgeshire (6pm)

EERA has also organised a regional consultation event focusing on the whole of the East of England between 2-4pm on 10th September at Robinson College, Cambridge. This event will be of particular interest to a professional stakeholder audience.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

An information pack including local housing numbers for each scenario is available at: www.eera.gov.uk/News/public-information-packs

The consultation document is available at:
www.eera.gov.uk/What-we-do/developing-regional-strategies/east-of-england-plan/east-of-england-plan-review-to-2031/

For further information or to arrange an interview with an EERA spokesperson, please contact:

Stephen Hinchley, Tel: 01284 729430, Mob: 07710 312237, Email: stephen.hinchley@eera.gov.uk

Claire Sefton, Tel: 01284 729427 Mob: 07920257940 Email: Claire.sefton@eera.gov.uk
East of England Plan
The long-term planning framework for the sustainable development of the region is provided by the East of England Plan (Regional Spatial Strategy). The East of England Plan provides the basis for local authorities to prepare their local development plans and for other organisations to plan their investment e.g. NHS, Highways Agency, water companies etc.

The current East of England Plan[1] sets out regional planning policy to 2021 but many councils are already preparing local plans stretching to 2026 and beyond. A focused review of the East of England Plan is therefore needed to set out regional planning policy from 2011 to 2031. It will plan for the region’s growth and prosperity, housing needs and respond to issues such as climate change.

The review of the East of England Plan will be completed in 2011. There will be public consultation at key stages of the process to enable members of the public and others to contribute. The review will consider:
· jobs and homes targets for 2011-2031 including affordable homes;
· broad locations for new development;
· regional infrastructure needs e.g. transport;
· targets to reduce the use of natural resources (energy, water) and greenhouse gas emissions;
· priorities for the environment such as the countryside and biodiversity protection.

In undertaking the East of England Plan 2031, the Assembly will be working closely with the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the Government Office for the East of England (GO-East).
East of England Regional Assembly
1. The East of England Regional Assembly is independent of Government and is not a Government agency or quango. It represents the regional interests of people living and working in the East of England.

2. The Assembly has 96 members of which two thirds are elected councillors (from the 52 local authorities in the region) and one third are stakeholder representatives. Its meetings are open to the media and general public.

3. The Assembly is the designated Regional Planning Body for the East of England until March 2010 when it will cease to exist.

4. During 2008/09 EERA’s work included:
£1 billion bid for investment in public transport and roads across the region including final stretch of A11 dualling
Campaigned against a second runway at Stansted Airport
Held EEDA to account at six Economic Summits
Influenced European funding programmes worth £500 million to support employment, skills, climate change and low carbon economic growth
Delivery of 328 training courses to develop thousands of local authority employees and councillors in the region
For more information on EERA, see the website at www.eera.gov.uk

East of England Regional Planning Panel
Cllr Derrick Ashley (Chairman of RPP), Conservative, 01992 556571
Cllr Alan Crystall (Panel Group Leader), Liberal Democrat, 01702 474047
Cllr Roy Davis (Panel Group Leader), Labour, 01582 730939
Corrine Meakins (Panel Group Leader), Community Stakeholder, 07960 189994