District councils respond to Government’s plans to regenerate England’s cities with new homes
Responding to the Government’s plans to regenerate England’s cities with new homes, Cllr Mark Crane, District Councils’ Network lead member for stronger economies, said:
“The building of new homes is core business for district councils that continue to approve 9 in 10 planning applications. We are committed to the aim of building 300,000 homes a year, and to creating high-quality, well-designed places that people are proud to call home.
“It is welcome that the Government has listened to councils and decided not to pursue the imposition of undeliverable new housing targets in many local areas. While there will always be difficulties in applying a national formula into local realities, the reversion to the previous methodology is a positive move and provides many places some certainty through which to push forward on our house-building ambitions.
“We look forward to working with the Government to build the right homes in the right places, for instance where tall buildings might work best in some areas and reduced density in others. It will be important that the Government takes account of the impact that the pandemic may have for house-building, and creates the necessary flexibilities within the Housing Delivery Test to ensure that our communities who back development are not penalised if the builders slow down.”
Notes to editors
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) is a cross-party member led network providing a single voice to 187 district councils. District councils in England deliver 86 out of 137 essential local government services to over 22 million people – 40 per cent of the population – and cover 68 per cent of the country by area. They play a key role in local communities, providing services such as building homes, collecting waste, regenerating town centres, preventing homelessness, keeping streets clean and maintaining parks.
Contact: District Councils’ Network press office, 020 7664 3333
Date: December 2020