Housing Growth - A Chance to Have Your Say

Local residents, organisations, local authorities. developers, landowners and other interested groups are being asked to help develop long term strategies for accommodating future housing growth in the region .

Following the publication of the Regional Spatial Strategy – known as The Yorkshire and Humber Plan-, the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly has been asked by Government to undertake a partial review of the Plan to look at future housing growth and the likely higher Government targets for more homes in the region.

The Plan published by Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber last month, sets a target of 22,260 additional homes being provided each year in the Region, along with Government projections that 29,160 jobs will be created in the region between now and 2026.

The 2009 Update of The Plan will test and explore the scale and location of growth and infrastructure needed, looking at various options for different parts of the region.

The Assembly is currently consulting on the draft Project Plan for this work and seeking an early input to the Update through a Call for Evidence aimed at anyone with a strategic interest in shaping the region’s future development.

The consultation is aimed at bringing forward ideas and evidence about whether the region’s plan for growth, as set out in The Plan, can continue, or needs to change over the longer term.

This will feed into a series of the Strategic Options for the 2009 Update which will be developed by the Assembly for further consultation later this year.

Assembly Chair Peter Box, said: “There’s no doubt the higher housing requirements for more homes in the region are challenging, which is why the Government has asked the Assembly to undertake this partial review of the Plan - to look again at housing growth.

“In addition, the 2009 Update will also allow us to look at other, related key issues like infrastructure, transport, Eco Towns and New Growth Points.’’

Work on the 2009 Update will be running over the next year. An early input of ideas and evidence about strategic proposals from people and organisation such as developers, landowners and local authorities, city region and sub regional partnerships, interest groups and local people will help to inform and shape the work from the start.

The deadline for responding to the Project Plan consultation and the Call for Evidence is 11 July 2008.

For more information about the Update, click here.