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Planning and land use to support sustainable rural communities

The Prime Minister has today announced that Matthew Taylor MP will advise and assist the Minister of State for Housing and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - within the context of existing protection for the rural environment - on the application of land use planning policy to facilitate the provision of land for greater economic and social sustainability within rural communities, including land for enterprise and provision of affordable rural homes.

Matthew Taylor will in particular to look at the practical issues around:

• the identification and release of appropriate land for local economic development and affordable rural housing provision, working in conjunction with local government, parish councils and land owners;
• investigating the potential for increasing the provision of live/work space within rural communities; and
• assessing the local implementation of new planning rules on rural housing following the recommendations of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission.

He will report around July 2008.

Notes to Editors

1. Matthew Taylor is MP for Truro and St Austell.

2. Building new housing is a key priority for the Government. The Housing Green Paper set out some of the key challenges that the young and those in rural communities face as they try to get on the housing ladder.

3. The Barker Review on Planning made clear the need for reform so the planning system can better support economic development. New draft planning rules to support economic development will be published later this year.

4. The Housing Corporation is already investing £230 million to deliver around 6,300 homes in small towns and villages. The Government will set out a specific budget to increase provision of affordable housing in rural areas after consultation with the regional assemblies.

5. The Housing Corporation are providing support for seven new potential Community Land Trust Pilots - enabling trusts to own land for local communities to provide affordable homes. The Housing Corporation has set up a new rural task group to look at innovative ways to increase provision of affordable housing in rural areas such as community land trusts.

6. The New Growth points programme has been extended from the south to the north, and the New Homes Agency will work with rural councils to meet the pressures particular to their area.

7. The Government will shortly set out targets for rural affordable housing for 2008-11.

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