Communities and Local Government

• Housing
• Housing supply
• Growth Areas
• Frequently asked questions about Growth Areas

Housing

Frequently asked questions about Growth Areas

The Growth Areas

Why were these areas chosen for additional growth?

The regeneration of Thames Gateway has been a national and regional policy for more than a decade.  

The four Growth Areas that the Government are taking forward are a result of the development of the last RPG9 (for the wider south east) in 2001, based on proposals by regional and local partners.  They were identified because of their potential to take further growth more sustainably, including less environmental impact, and to exploit major transport investment, such as that underway for the West Coast mainline and the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link, with its domestic and international services.

The potential of each growth area has been independently assessed in studies which were published in 2002.  Following this the Government endorsed the four Growth Areas in the Sustainable Communities Plan.

These studies and supplementary local assessments have been key inputs to the preparation of proposals by regional partners for new Regional Planning documents for each area, which is then subject to public consultation and testing in public examination - such as the MKSM Sub-regional Strategy.

Aren't you just forcing new homes onto communities who don't want them? 

No. Proposals for additional growth will be 'bottom up' - responding to proposals from local partners.  The additional long term growth will contribute to meeting our affordability goal and increasing home ownership. Our objective is sustainable communities, with housing as part of that.

General Growth Issues

What about infrastructure to support planned growth?

Government is committed to ensuring that infrastructure is delivered in step with growth, as plans for individual growth locations are developed.

Our approach includes working across Government to ensure that mainstream funding reflects the needs of growth, and as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review Government has carried out a cross cutting review of infrastructure investment to support growth.

Government also provides selective additional grant funding - 2003-2008 Government has provided £1.1bn for the Growth Areas, New Growth Points and Thames Gateway, plus £200m for the Community Infrastructure Fund to support transport projects related to housing growth.

Over the CSR07 period Government will provide a further £1.7bn to support delivery across the Growth Areas, the Thames Gateway, Growth Points and Eco-towns.  

What about water supply - aren't there shortages already?

Homes don't use water, people do.  Water demand is rising because we have an ageing and growing population, not because we are building more homes.

However, we have to use water resources efficiently and have set out measures to improve efficiency, and the Code for Sustainable Homes will encourage builders to go even further.

Water companies and local authorities are already working to ensure that over the long term water infrastructure is in place to support new homes.

The Environment Agency works closely with Government, the Growth Areas and Growth Points to ensure that water infrastructure is properly planned.

What about the flood risks - aren't we building on the flood plains?

We take the issue of flood risk very seriously.  Government policy (PPS25) aims to ensure that flood risk is taken into account at all stages in the planning process to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding, and to direct development away from areas of highest risk. Where new development is, exceptionally, necessary in such areas, policy aims to make it safe, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible, reducing flood risk overall.

Around 10 per cent of land in England lies within areas of flood risk, many such areas are already defended to a high standard.  It is unrealistic to suggest we can halt all development in these areas.  The scale of development in the growth areas means we have the opportunity to build in best practice flood risk management from the start.  

The Environment Agency works closely with Government, the Growth Areas and Growth Points to ensure that flood risk is properly assessed and planned for.

Will these homes just be thousands of identical boxes?

The recent CABE housing audits showed that too many poorly designed homes are still being built. Government policy (PPS1) sets out the overarching planning policies for sustainable development and guidance that prioritises good design.

Communities and Local Government has funded CABE to work with the Growth Areas and Growth Points championing good design, ensuring they benefit from CABE's expert advice on issues such as design, masterplanning, community consultation and procurement.

CABE have also published their best practice report Actions for Housing Growth which sets out practical actions for achieving good design in the growth areas.

New Growth Points

Why create the New Growth Points initiative?

We want to respond positively to local partners who are keen to pursue growth.  We recognise that some communities, both within the wider South and in the Midlands, are looking for help to pursue sustainable growth, similar to support provided in the Growth Areas, including developing brownfield sites and helping with local infrastructure problems, and they need Government support to plan ahead for long term delivery.

What criteria do local partners have to meet?

Proposals from local authorities needed to set out how they could deliver housing at a rate 20 per cent higher than that included in regional planning guidance at 2003, or equivalent, with the total housing delivery in the authority at least 500 dwellings per annum.  In addition, the proposals needed to be sustainable and well planned, acceptable environmentally and realistic in terms of infrastructure, particularly transport.

How will New Growth Points benefit existing communities?

Proposals are not simply about new development, but are intended to benefit existing communities as well. A good example of this is in Taunton, where plans include redevelopment of Somerset County Cricket Ground for international matches and other major sporting and cultural events, extension of the Brewhouse Theatre to enable larger productions and improvements to the museum and central library.

The Growth Fund

How did you make funding decisions?

During the summer all local authorities/partnerships eligible for funding were invited to bid through the submission of a Programme of Development.  

Programmes of Development are documents that set out local areas plans and ambitions for growth, including a trajectory for housing delivery and the infrastructure needed to support it, identified resources and the extra support needed to deliver.  

Funding decisions were based around the assessment of their Programmes of Development against the key criteria set out in the guidance, with the number of homes to be delivered to 2016 and the scale of the key infrastructure challenges at the location.  

How is the Growth Fund different from previous funding rounds?

Instead of funding individual projects from April 2008, the Growth Fund will provide unringfenced block funding to local authorities and partnerships based on an assessment of their Programmes of Development.  

As an unringfenced grant, with the exception of reflecting the split between capital and revenue there will be no grant conditions about how or when it is spent. 

It will be for local authorities to prioritise how the funding is used in their area with performance monitored through the indicators in the Local Government Performance Framework.

All appraisal, monitoring, financial management, governance and audit of individual projects will be the responsibility of the lead authority for the payment of grant.  

What will the Growth Fund be used for?

The Growth Fund is there to support the delivery of infrastructure projects within the Growth Areas, Growth Points and Eco-towns.  In the past growth funding has been used to fund site infrastructure such as site access and remediation, alongside wider community and public realm facilities including green infrastructure, public realm and town centre improvements and small scale transport solutions.  

In future, it will be for local authorities to prioritise what the funding is used for.

Why are you doing a consultation on the new funding system?

This is the first time local authorities and partnerships have been invited to submit Programmes of Development on which funding decisions have been based.  This is also the first time we have provided block funding instead of funding for individual projects.  We therefore want to test how the new system is operating with local areas during the first year to enable the system where possible to be improved even further for 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Is there still a commitment to spend ten per cent of funding on Green Infrastructure?

No.  It is for local authorities to prioritise what the funding is used for.  The Programmes of Development do however demonstrate that local authorities have a real commitment to the provision of green infrastructure and many have involved green infrastructure organisations, such as the River Nene Regional Park in the development of the Programmes of Development.

What happens if a local authority does not use this funding to support housing growth?

From 2008 LA performance will be monitored through the new local performance framework which includes a range of indicators relating to housing growth. It will be for local authorities to identify priorities and allocate funding accordingly.  As long as local authorities are achieving against their agreed targets they will not be penalised if this funding is used to support other objectives.