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Deputy prime minister John Prescott’s recently unveiled ‘Sustainable communities’ programme aims to tackle the housing crisis – but, asks Yasmin Prabhudas, at what cost for council housing and the environment?

Home economics

“Rising house prices and shortages of affordable homes, especially in London and the south east are having a damaging impact on public services and the country’s economic performance,” said John Prescott, deputy prime minister, in his statement to the Commons outlining a package of measures to take on the shortage of affordable housing in the south east.

New homes in London and the south east
Under the auspices of the ‘Sustainable communities’ programme, the government intends to make £5 billion available for more affordable housing over the next three years, including £1 billion more for housing for key workers.

The plans focus on four ‘priority growth areas’ to meet the housing shortfall: the Thames Gateway, which will receive ‘seed corn’ investment of £446 million; and the London-Stanstead-Cambridge corridor, Milton Keynes and Ashford in Kent, which will benefit from a total of £164 million in funding.

Commenting on the plan, London mayor Ken Livingstone said:

“We have won the argument that London needs more resources to deliver higher levels of affordable housing - not just for those in housing need, but for key workers in the public and private sectors who are being priced out of London.

"And we have agreed with the government the mechanisms to drive forward implementation of my London Plan in the London Thames Gateway.”

Ed Barnes, regional officer for the East of England at the National Housing Federation also welcomed the plan, but felt more could be done to prevent council housing from leaving the social housing sector in the first place.

“This is obviously a good result for the four growth areas. In particular the government’s recognition of the need to improve the transport links and other infrastructure in these areas and put some funding behind it is very welcome,” he said.

“With house prices rampant and a population growing far quicker than the national average, we would like to see some relatively firm action on the ‘right to buy’ when the government moves on this.”

Demolition and regeneration in the north
Over the next three years, the government will also invest £5 billion in regeneration programmes to help areas in the north and the Midlands, where low demand has meant some properties have become almost worthless.

In nine of the worst low demand areas, where partnerships have been set up, £500 million will be made available. However, in some cases, homes will have to be demolished.

Mr Prescott declared, “Low demand requires a new approach, to recreate places where people want to live - not leave. This means tackling not just housing but, where we can, rebuilding sustainable communities.”

Chris Downes, West Midlands regional officer at the National Housing Federation, was pleased with these extra resources.

“There are many communities in the West Midlands in need of much more investment, including the metropolitan areas. We will be studying with our members the potential impact of the Communities Plan on Birmingham.”

Environmental impact
However, Mr Prescott’s plans for London and the south east have come under fire from environmentalists.

Despite his assurances that the government would maintain and increase greenbelt land across England and build on brownfield land, there are concerns that greenfield land will be affected.

“The only way the deputy prime minister can protect the greenbelt is to build the new homes in mid air," said campaigns co-ordinator at Friends of the Earth England Paul de Zylva.

"He hasn’t addressed the regional imbalance and we need the right homes in the right places. We’ve no guarantees these won’t be soulless estates dependent on car use.

“We support use of brownfield land but there’s a mismatch between Mr Prescott’s commitment to the greenbelt and the use of brownfield sites. If you’re using brownfield sites, why build in Milton Keynes, where there is no brownfield land?”

Stock transfer disaster for council housing
And there’s more bad news. The plans are likely to have a disastrous effect on council housing provision, calling into question the government’s commitment to affordable social housing.

Barriers preventing councils from transferring housing stock will be removed and £685 million in private finance initiative (PFI) credits will be available to refurbish local authority homes.

There will also be an increase in resources for Arms Length Management Organisations. All these measures are likely to have a significant impact on tenant choice and local democracy.

Yasmin Prabhudas