South East RSS figures woefully inadequate to meet housing need

Responding to recommendations from the Planning Inspectors’ Report on the South East Regional Spatial Strategy, which suggests annual housebuilding targets for the region of 32,000 homes, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation Stewart Baseley says: “32,000 new homes per year will not go anywhere near meeting the clear housing need in the region. This is less than required to meet Government household growth projections. There is a clear need for 40,000 new homes per year to meet the accumulated and growing housing shortfall in the South East.

“Without sufficient homes, the social consequences for families in the region will be dire. With housing affordability already stretched to the limit, these woefully inadequate targets will mean more people than ever will be excluded from home ownership.”

HBF has argued that to consistently provide the full range of housing needed by communities across the region, taking into account the backlog of previously unmet demand, requires a net addition of some 40,000 new homes a year. This will have profound social and economic consequences for the region over time and threaten the provision of essential public services that all communities depend on.

Home builders are working with the Government and other developers to find better solutions to the provision of necessary infrastructure to support growing communities. But not facing up to the need for more housing is a recipe for impaired economic performance and social tension. HBF therefore ask that the Government take on board these broader implications when considering the recommendations of the Panel, and in forming a view on what housing levels housing to include in the final version of the Plan.