By Richard Johnstone | 24 March 2014
The government agency announced by George Osborne to lead the creation of a garden city at Ebbsfleet in Kent must be given a ‘blank sheet of paper’ free from council planning agreements, the chair of the area’s local enterprise partnership has said.
Peter Jones, who chairs the South East LEP that covers the proposed new town site in the Ebbsfleet Valley, said the announcement of an Urban Development Corporation for the area was welcome.
In his Budget statement, the chancellor said the UDC would ensure obstacles to development on the site were overcome. ‘We’re going to build 15,000 homes there, put in the infrastructure, set up the development corporation and make it happen.’ He added that a government prospectus for further garden cities would be published by Easter.
The Local Government Association urged ministers not to create corporations, but to place councils at the centre of the initiative.
However, Jones told Public Finance the corporation was needed to reset existing agreements for development at Ebbsfleet, which had been hit by the financial crisis.
‘I think they have to have a blank sheet of paper to do what is going to be right for the area,’ he said.
They have got to take a view on the development of the whole area, and unless they can start from first principles, then you could have some real “codge-ups”.’
Also speaking to PF, Labour’s former housing minister John Healey agreed strong central policies were needed.
Healey, who was responsible for the last government’s planned eco-towns, said any administration that hoped to meet Britain’s housing needs had to look at the role new towns could play.
‘Where there is strong local leadership and support then government must give it the strongest possible backing from the centre,’ he added.
‘But in some areas that may not be sufficient, which is why I say the lesson from the successful wave of post-war new towns is that very strong central government is required if these are going to get off the ground.’
