The South-east regional assembly has called for the suspension of right to buy in South-east “hotspot” areas

In its draft regional spatial strategy, published on Monday, the assembly says right to buy should be stopped in areas of the South-east where there is a big problem of affordability and where house prices are significantly higher than the average wage.

Brighton and Hove, Oxford and parts of Surrey and Buckinghamshire are the areas most affected.

Social housing providers in the South-east have welcomed the call. Graham Stratford, acting business manager for housing services at Oxford council, said: “We would definitely like to see a suspension of right to buy for the foreseeable future. We currently have 1000 people in temporary accommodation because we have nowhere to put them. If we continue to lose properties how will we be able to reduce homelessness?”

The assembly is also asking for views on the number of homes to be built over the next 20 years.

It has proposed three options:

  • 25,000 additional homes a year – the average level of build over the past five years
  • 28,000 additional homes a year – about the current level of building
  • 32,000 additional homes a year – an increase of about 4000 on existing levels.

At the beginning of December the assembly voted to cut numbers from between 32,000 and 36,000 to between 25,000 and 32,0000 new homes. It claimed there was not enough infrastructure to support a higher number (HT 3 December 2004, page 10).

The strategy is open to consultation until 15 April. More than 3 million households across the region will also receive a questionnaire, based on issues raised in the plan, over the next two months.

Following the consultation phase an “updated” version of the plan will be submitted to the Government Office of the South-east by 31 July 2005.

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

Consultation on the pre-draft Yorkshire and Humber regional spatial strategy was launched last week with a warning there would be depopulation in urban areas unless action is taken. It also suggested that development in the Doncaster/Scunthorpe corridor may have to be restrained as a result of water resource constraints if environmental concerns were a priority. Copies of the South-east plan are available at www.southeast-ra.gov.uk; for the Yorkshire plan visit www.yhassembly.gov.uk.