Further written evidence to be reported to the House
Housing and Regeneration Bill
12:00 pm
Neil Sinden: Kate will deal with the details, but I think that there are two specific areas, one of which I have alluded to—the potential that the Bill presents to give the agency a focus on urban brownfield regeneration. First, we believe that English Partnerships, one of the predecessor bodies, has done some extremely valuable work in helping the Government to meet and exceed their commitment to reuse brownfield land for housing over the past 10 years. English Partnerships has played a key role in achieving significant improvements in performance. We want that role to continue with the new institution, but we do not think that the Bill necessarily has the right provisions in place to secure that focus in the future.
My second response, to return to my point about the appropriate use of the planning system, is that the system operated by local planning authorities across the country has played a part in delivering the brownfield regeneration that has benefited many towns and cities. Of course, the agency will be given quite extensive planning powers—potentially both plan making and development control—under the Bill. It is critical that, in performing those functions, the brownfield-greenfield balance is struck correctly.