CPRE South East
Campaigning to Protect the South East's Countryside
The South East Plan is the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East of England. CPRE South East and CPRE county groups around the South East have been working to influence the final content of the plan. The government is expected to publish the final plan early in 2009.
6 May 2009: South East Plan published
CPRE SE expresses delight at the decision by Government to adopt a lower housing target for the region in the final version of the South East Plan. More...
CPRE Oxfordshire says the South East Plan is shockingly bad news for Oxfordshire, especially the policy to review the green belt south of Oxford for an urban extension to the city. More...
The South East Plan
The South East Plan proposed 580,000 homes over the next 20 years, a number the government wishes to revise upwards. It will lead to unprecedented damage to the rural landscape. This level of development is environmentally unsustainable, and the south east is in danger of drying out through water shortages, of suffering steadily worsening traffic congestion and air pollution, and of being overwhelmed by a rising tide of household waste. CPRE South East and CPRE county groups around the South East have been working to influence the final content of the plan and minimise damage to the countryside, environment and rural communities.
The Examination in Public 2007
The South East Regional Assembly submitted the draft South East Plan to the government on in March 2006. An Examination in Public (EiP) iwas held from November 2006 to March 2007. It involved hundreds of participants from a wide range of organisations, discussing and facing probing questions about the region’s future – its housing, transport, economic development, quality of life and environmental protection up to 2026. CPRE was represented at 41 of the 52 sessions of the EiP. Only the South East England Regional Assembly itself and the Government Office of the South East were invited to more sessions.
At the public examination, CPRE’s South East group called for the environment and countryside to be placed at the heart of planning in the South East, and for there to be a stronger focus on meeting the needs of local communities – rather than extensive new development to accommodate a continuing large net inflow of people from London and other regions. Edward Dawson, CPRE’s South East Regional Director, said: "Many of the helpful policies in the draft Plan are undermined by other policies which place the highest emphasis on economic growth. The countryside, the wider environment and our quality of life risk being sidelined as a result."
CPRE argued at the public examination for:- a greater commitment in the Plan to protecting and enhancing the countryside and landscapes of the South East
- priority to be given to meeting local needs for affordable homes, schools, public transport and health services;
- testing of housing figures to make sure they can meet need without exceeding the capacity of the region’s environment to accommodate development
- an end to wasteful use of land: at least 75% of housing and 85% of commercial development in the region should go on brownfield sites
- average housing densities of at least 30-50 homes hectare to use building land more efficiently – and higher in locations with good public transport and facilities nearby. Good sized family homes with their own gardens can be built at these densities
- high standards of design, creating attractive new housing with a sense of place close to local facilities. Use of sustainable construction techniques in all new development, so that the region’s new homes cause less environmental damage during construction and through their lifetimes
- clearer, more convincing proposals to tackle climate change and conserve natural resources, particularly water.
CPRE South East and CPRE branches around the South East made a number of submissions to the EiP:
The Inspectors' Report 2008
The Inspectors' report following the EiP was published in August 2007.
- CPRE SE eBulletin on the Inspectors Report: " there should be no doubt that this report will deliver increased urban sprawl while failing to tackle the problems of housing affordability, and will lead to worsened congestion that will ultimately constipate the economy."
- CPRE South East says that "South East housing threatens an unsustainable course".
Government Response 2008
The Secretary of State published proposed changes to the draft plan in July 2008. CPRE responded robustly. The Secretary of State is now considering this and other responses. The government is expected to publish the final version of the South East Plan early in 2009.
- Government proposed changes
- CPRE South East reponse to the proposed changes
- CPRE Hampshire response to the proposed changes
Further information
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