1. The Rt Hon John Prescott MP, Deputy Prime Minister, launched the Sustainable Communities Plan (SCP) in February 2003. The stated aim of this Plan is to set out a long-term programme for delivering sustainable communities in both urban and rural areas by tackling housing supply issues in the South East, low demand in other areas, and the quality of public spaces. The Plan identifies four areas in the South East where there will be accelerated growth, namely the Thames Gateway, the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor, Ashford, and the Milton Keynes-South Midlands area. In addition, nine Market Renewal Pathfinder areas were identified where the main aim would be to tackle low demand for housing and abandonment.[1] The Plan includes a commitment to spend £22bn to improve housing and communities between 2002 and 2006.

2. Following this original announcement the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and various other departments commissioned work in several areas related to the implementation of the Plan:

• ODPM and HM Treasury jointly commissioned Kate Barker in April 2003 to consider the issues underlying the lack of supply and responsiveness of the housing market in the UK. The Barker Review of Housing Supply: Final Report was published in March 2004.
• In April 2003 ODPM announced that it had asked Sir John Egan to carry out a review of the skills and training that professionals working in the built environment require to deliver sustainable communities. The Egan Review: Skills for Sustainable Communities was published in April 2004.
• Following the Better Buildings Summit in October 2003, the Government set up a Sustainable Buildings Task Force to identify how Government and industry could improve the quality and sustainability of new and refurbished buildings.[2] This published its report, Better Buildings, Better Lives, in May 2004.
• In April 2004, DEFRA published a report entitled Study into the Environmental Impacts of Increasing the Supply of Housing in the UK. This was a short six-week scoping study, looking at the effects of increasing housing supply upon the environment, carried out in light of the Barker Review.

3. Our inquiry was launched in April 2004, following the publication of the final report of the Barker Review. In view of its content, and the already significant commitment by the Government to building new housing in the Sustainable Communities Plan, we decided that there was a need to examine whether the scale of house building was compatible with the Government's stated aim of placing sustainable development at the heart of policy and with its duty of protecting the environment.

4. In the course of our inquiry we received 54 memoranda from a range of organisations and individuals, for which we are grateful. We also took oral evidence on eight occasions. We received oral evidence from Lord Rooker, Minister of State for Regeneration and Regional Development, ODPM, on two occasions; Keith Hill MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, ODPM; Elliot Morley MP, Minister of State for Environment and Agri-Environment, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), on two occasions; from Kate Barker, author of the Barker Review; Sir John Egan, author of the Egan Review; and a range of other organisations. We are grateful to all those who have contributed to our inquiry.

Background

Housing numbers

5. The ODPM estimates that in 2003 there were just over 21.5 million households in England and over 25.5 million in the whole of the UK.[3] Regional Planning Guidance (recently changed to Regional Spatial Strategies) for all the English Regions sets a target of building 154,726 new houses per annum to 2016, which is below the 161,400 projection of annual average increase in households between 1996 and 2001 in England. Current targets under Regional Planning Guidance for all the Regions compared to numbers of completions are set out below in table 1.

6. The actual completion rate in the 1996-2001 period was an average of 140,958 per annum, leaving a shortfall of just under 14,000 between the Regional Planning Guidance targets and actual completion rates. Some areas such as the North East are well above targets, whereas there the shortfall is particularly significant in London and the South East Region, with a shortage of 9,604 and 4,320 respectively,

7. The Government has made clear that it is determined to ensure regional housing targets are met and has made a commitment to build an extra 200,000 homes over and above those already set out in Regional Planning Guidance by 2016, as part of the Sustainable Communities Plan. This would increase total house building rates to around 180,000 a year.[5] Table 2 below sets out the difference between current completion rates and projected completions rates under different scenarios, within the context of the number of predicted new households a year.

8. The increased target is to meet a projected yearly increase in the number households of 155,000. This rise is mainly attributed to a change in social trends, including an increase in the number of single person households, rising wealth and increased longevity.[6] In addition to this the Barker Review suggested there is a 450,000 backlog of households unable to access self-contained accommodation. The Review also suggests a current shortfall of housing of 35,000 a year, of which 8,000 are in the private sector and 31,000 are affordable. ODPM figures show that in September 2002 there were 85,000 officially homeless households.

9. Regional Planning Bodies (RPB), usually the Regional Assemblies, are responsible for setting housing targets for each of the regions. The Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) set out the parts of the region where building will be focused, based on the Secretary of State's policies in relation to the development and use of land within the region. These regional targets are then split and allocated to local authorities that must identify suitable land for housing development in the Local Development Plans. Under new legislation, included in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, Regional Planning Bodies are obliged to ask local authorities for advice as to what the preferred options for development are within their own area, within parameters set out by RPB, and local authorities are obliged to provide this advice. The RPB can then use this information in the preparation of their Regional Spatial Strategies which set housing targets for local authorities. Once local authorities have been set these targets, they must allocate land to meet the need of at least the first five years of their Local Plan. Housing targets set by the Regional Planning Bodies include a target for affordable homes provision. Once housing targets are agreed local authorities must plan, monitor and manage their response to housing, in accordance with planning guidance (PPG3), by reviewing housing requirements for their area at least every five years, or sooner if there are signs of either under or over-provision of housing land.

Housing construction

10. Standards and methods of construction of new housing have very significant impacts on the environment. The average carbon emissions associated with building a new home is 9.54 tonnes (tC).[7] The current build rate of 140,000 new homes a year result will result in emissions of 1.41MtC into the atmosphere. Further impacts associated with new housing are related to the sustainability of materials used, such as aggregates and timber, and the amount of waste generated, including contaminated soil, and how it is disposed of. Some 55% of all timber used in the UK goes into housing construction. According to DTI figures the construction and demolition industry produces 70Mtonnes of waste materials and soils. 13Mtonnes of this waste consists of materials that are delivered and never used, which is a staggering 19% of the total annually. 90% of non-energy minerals extracted in the UK are supplied as construction materials and the construction industry produces three times the volume of waste from all households combined . The use of housing during its lifetime also has significant impacts. Currently the housing sector contributes around 30% to UK CO₂ emissions and emits 40MtC a year into the atmosphere.[8] In addition, households use 56% of all water supplied and there are parts of the country, the South East particularly, where water supply issues are increasingly of concern.

11. For housing to be sustainable it should maximise resource efficiency, using materials that have the least possible impact on the environment, and minimise consumption of natural resources, such as water and energy, and waste production, both during their lifetime and when they are demolished. The above figures show that there is clear room for improvement in both how houses are built and in their environmental performance once occupied.

2   DEFRA Press Release, Sustainable Buildings Task Group line-up revealed, 12 November 2003 Back

3   ODPM, Housing Statistics 2004, December 2004 Back

4   Adapted from Review of Housing Supply: Securing our Future Housing Needs, Interim Report - Analysis, Kate Barker, December 2003.. Back

5   Q221 Back

6   ODPM, Sustainable Communities: building the Future, February 2003. Back

7   Entec, Study of the Environmental Impacts of Increasing the Housing Supply of the UK, April 2004, Appendix H Back

8   DEFRA, Energy Efficiency: The Government's Action Plan,April 2004 Back