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Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Answer

Mr. Pond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he proposes to announce the outcome of stage 2 of the review of English Partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [73451] Mr. Leslie: I am today announcing the conclusion of stage two of the Review of English Partnerships. English Partnerships will be a key player in the delivery of my new "living communities" agenda. As I announced in my Statement to the House on 18 July, I am instructing English Partnerships to use its new role to search out and deliver even more land for housing and sustainable urban development. I also want English Partnerships to help in regenerating those places most badly affected by abandonment and decay. Stage one of the Review confirmed English Partnerships as having an important role as an agency for best practice regeneration and development of brownfield land. I am keen that it develops that role, and in particular, I am asking the organisation to draw up plans to meet the following objectives: To bring about speedy development of new schemes that can help meet the objectives set out in my policy statement of 18 July. In particular, I am determined to see a step change in both the quantity and the quality of new development in those areas that are facing acute demand pressures. I am therefore today announcing an initial list of their sites on which I wish EP to concentrate, as shown in the table, and we will be consulting on the way forward for those sites. A further list of sites will be announced in the autumn. 2. To work closely with the Housing Corporation, and with other key agencies including the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), to ensure effective co-ordination in the delivery of plans for key worker and affordable housing within the wider context of "living communities". 3. To advise on the efficient and effective development of surplus Government land and buildings that may help deliver new communities where most needed. 4. To help with the assembly of sites for regeneration and sustainable development purposes. 5. To produce and maintain a national brownfield strategy, to include best practice guidance in the assembly, remediation and development of land and buildings, to help drive forward the Urban Renaissance. 6. To continue to operate its innovative programmes, including the Coalfields Programme, Millennium Communities, support for Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs), the English Cities Fund, the National Land Use Database (NLUD), Priority Sites Ltd, Land Stabilisation Programme, and Englishsites.com, and to develop new ideas for extending good practice. 7. To operate a regime that enables developers to use approved `gap' funding for the delivery of housing projects that would otherwise be commercially unviable. Initial list of sites _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Location Site Eastern 1) Basildon Gardiners Lane 2) Basildon Dry Street 3) Basildon Five Links (Phase 2) 4) Harlow Sports Centre 5) Hatfield Town Centre 6) Hemel Hempstead Spencers Park 7) Hemel Hempstead Paradise Fields 8) Hemel Hempstead Breakspear 9) Stevenage Town Centre 10) Stevenage West Stevenage 11) Peterborough Various sites North East 12) Middlesbrough Middlehaven 13) Stockton North Bank 14) Stockton Haverton Hill North West 15) Liverpool Kings Waterfront 16) Liverpool Liverpool Land Development Co. sites 17) Preston Preston East 18) Preston Cuerdon Regional Business Park 19) Runcorn Castlefields 20) Skelmersdale Town Centre 21) Warrington Omega Yorkshire and the Humber 22) Sheffield Various sites in the URC East Midlands 23) Corby Various sites in the URC 24) Northampton SW District Phase 1 25) Northampton SW District Phases 2 and 3 West Midlands 26) Telford Town Centre 27) Telford South Telford (Woodside) 28) Telford Lightmoor 29) Telford East Ketley Millennium Community 30) Telford Lawley South West 31) Weston-super-Mare RAF Locking South East 32) Crawley Expansion sites 33) Crawley Town Centre 34) Milton Keynes Central MK / Campbell Park 35) Milton Keynes Oak Grove Millennium Community 36) Milton Keynes Bletchley / MK Stadium 37) Milton Keynes Broughton Atterbury 38) Milton Keynes East Flank 39) Milton Keynes West Flank 40) Milton Keynes National Bowl / East Ashland London 41) Greenwich Greenwich Peninsula including the Millennium Community Cross-regional 42) Various Key Worker Housing Initiative sites _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

389 c1213-5W;389 c1211-3W; 73451

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Community development Construction Brownfield sites Housing Finance English Partnerships Planning permission Regional planning and development Sustainable development Urban areas Reviews Regeneration

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk