Growth
In response to acute housing pressures, the government is aiming to increase levels of housing supply to 240,000 new homes a year by 2016.
The provision of new homes in England has not kept pace with the numbers of new households. There are acute pressures on housing supply in London and the south east in particular, and ambitious solutions are required in order to avoid the urban sprawl that has taken place in the past.
Growth Areas and Growth Points will make a significant contribution to overall housing growth by delivering around 380,000 new homes by 2016, over and above the targets set in regional planning guidance in 2003.
Growth Areas
In 2003 the Sustainable Communities Plan set out the Government’s ambitious plans for housing supply across four designated Growth Areas in the wider south east region, which were identified as having the potential to provide 200,000 additional homes by 2016, on top of previous targets for housing growth.
Milton Keynes Partnership
Milton Keynes Partnership works with a range of organisations to help make projects happen and to secure money for schemes that will benefit the whole of Milton Keynes. As the local planning authority, it is responsible for determining major planning applications in the eastern, western and northern expansion areas of Milton Keynes.
London Opportunity Boroughs
The London Opportunity Boroughs are boroughs in London which are recognised as having high housing targets, but are not included in a Growth Area. To recognise their contribution to housing supply, Barnet, Brent and Islington were designated as London Opportunity Boroughs in 2006, and given access to growth funding as a result.
Government’s response to the Growth Fund Consultation in 2008 agreed the new criteria for London Opportunity Borough status as an increase in the conventional annual monitoring target in the London Plan Early Alterations compared to the London Plan 2004 of over 20%, and a conventional annual housing supply target of 900 units.
As a result of this, Croydon joined Barnet, Brent and Islington as a London Opportunity Borough in July 2008
Growth Points
Following the success of the Growth Areas, the Growth Points initiative was implemented to support communities that want to pursue large-scale, sustainable growth, including new housing. There are 50 Growth Points across England and if all of the proposed growth is achieved, they will contribute around 180,000 additional homes by 2016.
Community Infrastructure Fund
The Communities Infrastructure Fund supports the transport infrastructure costs that are required for faster housing development in Growth Areas, Growth Points and eco towns. The additional funding complements rather than replaces mainstream transport funding.
Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund
A part of the 2009 Budget ‘Building Britain’s Future’, capital funding has been made available from the Treasury housing stimulus package for low carbon infrastructure exemplars in the Growth Points and Growth Areas, to reduce carbon emissions from housing. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund further supports the sustainability of development in the growth locations.
Our role
The HCA provides funding and delivery support to Growth Areas and Growth Points. We offer advice on programme priorities and delivery, best practice sharing, capacity building and working with local stakeholders to address local barriers to housing growth. We monitor progress on overall delivery targets and help areas to develop plans for future growth, and through Milton Keynes Partnership we also exercise local planning authority powers.
Last updated: 12 January 2010