1.  The overall scale of housebuilding required:

  Milton Keynes Council notes the scale of housebuilding proposed in the recently published Milton Keynes & South Midlands study for the area in and around Milton Keynes (approximately 70,000 additional houses over 30 years). The Cabinet will be considering the report at its meeting on 3 December, following pre-scrutiny by the Environment, Transport & Localities Overview Committee on 21 November and further consideration by the Milton Keynes Local Strategic Partnership on 26 November. Based on the preliminary conclusions reached by the Milton Keynes Local Strategic Partnership on 2 October, it is likely that acceptance will be conditional on a number of pre-conditions. These concern government funding for the provision and improvement of essential physical and social infrastructure and the creation of a locally accountable development agency. The emerging views of the Milton Keynes Local Strategic Partnership are attached as annex A.

2.  Are the proposals likely to significantly reduce house prices:

  The Council does not believe that the proposals will have a significant effect in reducing house prices. To reduce house prices would necessitate releasing significantly more land than actually required, so that the price of development land would fall. The Council does not believe such a strategy is realistic or desirable. It is therefore essential that a significant proportion of the new houses are "affordable". The Council has jointly commissioned a Housing Needs Survey with English Partnerships. On the basis of the results of that study, the proportion of affordable housing provided in the Milton Keynes area should be not less than 30% of completions each year. The Council does not believe that the necessary level of affordable housing completions can be achieved solely through the operation of the planning system. Additional government intervention and funding will be required, together with measures to ensure that the housing provided remains affordable in perpetuity. The Council is concerned that low cost market housing and shared ownership housing does not remain affordable in perpetuity and that proposals to extend the right to buy would further reduce the long-term availability of affordable housing.

3.  Geographical distribution of new housing—the four proposed growth areas:

  The Council's support for a Milton Keynes growth area is likely to be conditional on the pre-conditions referred to in section 1 above. See also annex A.

4.  Whether the proposals will promote high quality sustainable communities whilst avoiding poorly designed urban sprawl:

  The proposals will not achieve high quality, sustainable communities without proper planning and control over implementation. This will require careful master planning and urban design guidance and cannot be done on the cheap or within the conventional Local Government funding regime. The Council will look to the Government to provide additional funding for the necessary planning and urban design input and to support an insistence on high quality design. Furthermore, for the new and existing communities to be sustainable they will need substantial investment in public transport and other physical and social infrastructure (see Annex A). The development process will also need to be managed and co-ordinated. It will not be sufficient simply to rely on the operation of market forces even if they are operating within the context of a masterplan.

5.  Proposals for new Millennium Villages:

  The Council supports the development of new Millennium Villages, including the one being planned at Oakgrove in Milton Keynes by English Partnerships.

6.  The balance of new development between for sale and social housing:

  See the answer to question 2 above.

7.  The extent to which decisions relating to housing, including numbers, tenure and density, should be taken by central and local government:

  The Council does not believe that decisions on these matters should be left to be decided simply by market forces, they must be led by a housing and planning strategy that reflects national, regional and local needs and priorities. It is therefore essential that the proposed growth areas are properly planned and that there is a locally accountable development agency to implement the plan. The Council believes that decisions should reflect local circumstances and needs. They should therefore be made at the local level unless there is a demonstrable and unavoidable need for decisions to be taken at the regional or national level.