Communities and Local Government
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Direct contact 0303 444 0000- contactus@communities.gov.uk
Growth Points
This page outlines the funding and support that is being made available for local communities to pursue large scale sustainable growth, including new housing.
The Government's vision for towns and cities is of prosperous and cohesive communities offering a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all. A vital ingredient for sustainable communities is an adequate supply of good quality housing offering a choice of types and tenures, including affordable housing for key workers and those in lower income groups.
Kate Barker's 2004 report (external link) highlighted the shortfall between housing supply and current and future demand, particularly in Southern England. The Government's response, announced in December 2005, included commitments relating to increasing housing supply, affordable housing for ownership and rent and planning reforms. A key element was to invite expressions of interest from local partners to put forward proposals for sustainable growth, which could form the basis of a long term partnership with Government.
Applications were invited from authorities proposing an average rate of new housebuilding at least 20 per cent higher than set in plans in October 2003, and delivering at least 500 new houses per year. This initiative brought a very positive response, and in October 2006 the Government announced twenty-nine locations to be supported as Growth Points, and to share in an initial £40m fund for infrastructure projects and essential studies to support sustainable growth.
Following the success of the first round of Growth Points, a second round of the initiative was announced in the Housing Green Paper on 23 July 2007 which, for the first time, allowed areas in northern England to bid for Growth Point Status. Twenty-one second round Growth Points were announced on 16 July 2008 (this included one location announced in May 2008 at the same time as the East of England RSS was formally adopted).
Partnership
By supporting these areas as Growth Points, the Government is entering into a long-term partnership, subject to the statutory regional and local planning process. The terms of the partnership were originally set out in a Written Ministerial Statement (external link) made to Parliament by Yvette Cooper on 24 October 2006.
Planning and Conditions
A Growth Point is not a statutory designation. Regional Spatial Strategies set out strategic policies and proposals that shape the distribution of regionally or sub-regionally significant activities and development including, amongst other things, the scale and distribution of new housing. Local Development Frameworks set the local policy context and allocate specific sites for development. Growth Point proposals will be subject to robust testing and public consultation through these regional and local planning processes.
The consultation process for Growth Point status, conducted with other Government Departments and Agencies (including the Environment Agency, Highways Agency and Natural England) has both enhanced the evidence base to inform the planning process and identified issues that will need to be addressed as growth proposals progress. These include requirements for certain studies and assessments to be carried out and their results used to inform decisions including the locations, amounts and phasing of different types of development. These requirements are explicit partnership conditions to underline their importance in shaping sustainable outcomes and are therefore subject to monitoring by central Government and Agencies.
Homes and Communities Agency
From 1st December 2008, implementation of the Growth Points programme has been the responsibility of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) (external link).
Contact
The first point of contact for the Growth Points programme should be the HCA. However, contact details for the Growth Points policy team at Communities and Local Government are:
Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
Email. newgrowthpoints@communities.gsi.gov.uk
Tel. 0303 444 0000
Key words: Growth, Growth Points, Housing, Communities, Towns, Sustainability.
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