Clause 16 - Duty of local housing authority to formulate a homelessness strategy
Homes Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
The regional planning guidance does not impose targets on individual district councils. There is a cascade process in which the regional planning guidance sets the overall parameters for the region and indicates particular areas where it feels that there is the greatest need for development. In the south-west, the hon. Gentleman will know that there is a particular focus on the Swindon area, which is an area of considerable growth. There is also a need to consider housing provision in the area that abuts his constituency, close to the towns of Tewkesbury and Cheltenham and Gloucester. Those issues need to be considered at a regional level.
The next stage of the process is for indications to be given of the appropriate allocation for housing division between the counties. That is done by region. The cascade then goes from the county level to the individual district authority. That has been the procedure for some time. It allows a proper consideration of how the needs of a region can best be met and each authority can participate in the process to see what it can contribute. We are encouraging authorities to look at existing urban areas and we have issued guidance on capacity studies to explore the scope for redevelopment of brown-field sites.
That is all part of our commitment to ensure that a higher proportion of housing is built on brown-field, rather than green-field sites. The hon. Gentleman will know in relation to the south-west regional guidance that the Government increased the figure that was put forward originally by the local authority through the regional planning body for the proportion that is required to be built on brown-field sites. The Government have a clear commitment to meet housing needs, but in a sustainable way, making the most use of brown-field sites.