Councillor Jones says the report, published this week, makes a mockery of the work that partners in the South East have already done on the South East Plan (SEP). The SEP calls for 28,900 extra homes to be built in the region every year, which includes affordable housing. The report to government looks at the possibility of increasing housing numbers by up to 59 per cent.
Councillor Jones said:” This report is a nonsense. You only have to look around at our congested roads and hear about the potential water shortage to realise that many of our resources are already under pressure. To suggest that the South East could sustain large increases in homes in terms of its economy, environment, transport, roads and quality of life, is ludicrous. To put it into context, an extra 46,000 homes a year is the equivalent of a town the size of Eastbourne springing up across the region each and every year.
"The report does not recognise the range of factors that the South East Plan has taken into account in arriving at a housing figure, including the fact that local residents have told us that they don’t want lots more housing. However, I am pleased to see the report does actually recognise that the Sussex Coast is one of three areas least able in the region to accommodate additional development, because of our poor infrastructure and sensitive environment. What it doesn’t properly recognise is the priority we need to give to economic regeneration rather than simply more housing.”
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