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Designated Growth Areas

Answer

The Government have stated on a number of occasions that building sustainable communities means more than building new houses and that additional infrastructure and services will be required in support of a growing population as well as the existing population.Infrastructure results vary widely from one area to another and from one development to another, and so it is not possible to apply a general formula to growth plans. In order to underpin the plans for the growth areas, studies were commissioned on the growth areas (e.g. the 2002 Milton Keynes and South Midlands study undertaken by Roger Tym and Partners) and on individual locations within the growth areas (e.g. the 2003 Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Growth Area studies, also prepared by Roger Tym and Partners). These studies have included information on infrastructure requirements and costing and have been made public in order to inform the regional planning documents relevant to the growth areas (e.g. the Milton Keynes South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy). The sub-regional strategies are now being taken forward at local level and local partners are doing their own work to prioritise and cost the infrastructure associated with growth. The Government are not planning to commission additional studies to estimate infrastructure requirements and costs for each of the growth areas.Both housing development and infrastructure investment are on-going activities. The allocation of individual houses and expenditures on infrastructure to ““growth”” and ““background levels”” is not a practical option. Nor is it practical or desirable to halt all development until all of the investment contemplated in support of that development is in place. Indeed, infrastructure requirements will change over time, reflecting, for example, the detailed geography of housing and jobs, as well as changes in technology, consumer preferences and service provision. Rather, infrastructure needs to be put in place on a timely basis to support growth in a locality and needs to be planned for on a dynamic basis. We look to local partners, in particular the local delivery vehicles, to construct their business plans accordingly and to work with regional and national bodies in prioritising funding towards timely provision of infrastructure.The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has produced variant population projections for the four growth areas. These were done at local authority level and projected forward population projections based on current population trends and likely additional housing due to the area being a growth area. The assumed additional population was based on past trends regarding births, deaths, household formation rates and migration.Government looks to regional and local partners to plan dynamically for changing demographics. For example, the Learning and Skills Councils in the Milton Keynes South Midlands sub-region have collaborated on a study on the long-term learning and skills needs of the area. This study embraces a variety of demographic scenarios and recognises the need to take a strategic approach to planning infrastructure which is adaptable to a range of scenarios.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

440 c1721-2W;440 c1721-2W; 31854

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Construction Housing Infrastructure Regional planning and development Milton Keynes