26 September 2003
Housebuilders could construct more than a quarter of a million homes in Britain without developing a single new greenfield site, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
It produced figures this week to show that land reserves held by builders increased by 17.6% between 1998 and 2002. This would enable 278,866 new homes to be built without seeking additional planning permission – up from 237,069 five years ago.
'The housebuilders' special pleading for more greenfield land to build on is not borne out by the facts,' said Neil Sinden, the CPRE's director of policy. 'Far from there being a land shortage, too much countryside is still in the pipeline for development.'
The shortage of affordable housing is almost entirely due to a collapse in public funding since the 1970s, he added. The CPRE is urging the government to provide fiscal incentives to encourage urban renewal, and to raise the target for new homes on brownfield sites from 60 to 75%.
But the housebuilders say that the amount of available land has risen because of delays imposed by lengthy planning permission procedures.
PFsep2003
