Planning, building and the environment

Matthew Taylor Review on rural economy and affordable housing

The Prime Minister has asked Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St Austell, to conduct a review on how land use and planning can better support rural business and deliver affordable housing. Many rural communities are faced by a combination of higher than average house prices and lower than average local wages. This can create challenges for individual families, the local economy and the wider sustainability of the community.

Matthew Taylor will be seeking to explore how these issues can be addressed - within the context of existing protection for the natural environment - through the application of land use and planning policy. In particular, the following issues will be looked at:

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.
Assessing the local implementation of new planning rules on rural housing following the recommendations of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission.

The review will be used to advise and assist Government and will report to the Minister of State for Housing and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Matthew Taylor will report around July 2008.

Call for evidence

A call for evidence has been issued by the Taylor Review team on 7 December 2007, seeking your views about how planning and land use could better support rural business and the provision of new affordable homes.

Matthew Taylor is seeking views on this work from a wide range of people and organisations, such as regional and local government, parish councils, housing and planning professionals, social and private housing developers, land owners, rural businesses, rural communities and others with an interest in this work. See below for the Call for evidence document

If you would like to submit evidence to this review, please download and complete the call for evidence document and return to the Review secretariat by Friday 7 March 2008 by email (taylorreview@communities.gsi.gov.uk), or to the cited address below.

Review contact details

If you would like to contact Matthew Taylor regarding this review or send in evidence to support this work, please use the Review email address: taylorreview@communities.gsi.gov.uk. Written correspondence can be sent to:

Matthew Taylor Review Secretariat
Communities and Local Government
1/H3
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU