Planning for Housing
The Government is expected to publish a new policy on planning for housing this summer. Consultation on the draft version ended in February.
Unless substantially amended, the new policy could herald a return to 'predict and provide' and an abandonment of the sequential 'brownfield first' approach which gives priority to developing urban brownfield sites in locations which reduce the need to travel. The draft policy placed considerable emphasis on meeting the demand for housing where it arises but at the same time failed to give planning authorities the powers they need to ensure urban brownfield sites are developed before greenfields.
CPRE fears that unless substantially amended the new policy would provide a recipe for greenfield sprawl, urban dereliction and abandonment but would do little to address the lack of affordable housing.
CPRE is calling on MPs everywhere to back our campaign for housing which gives priority to developing to urban brownfield sites before green fields. Please ask your MP to sign the brownfield first Early Day Motion 1770, if he/she has not done so already. You can find out whether your MP has signed by logging on here.