Housing Target Extras - Leigh-on-Sea

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Leigh On Sea News: Housing Target Extras – THE Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, has confirmed at Local Government Questions in the House of Commons that the proposed New Town, on the border of Southend and Rochford, for up to 10,000 homes, would be added on to both Rochford and Southend’s already massive housing targets – rather than being incorporated as part of them.

Housing Target Extras – THE Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, has confirmed at Local Government Questions in the House of Commons that the proposed New Town, on the border of Southend and Rochford, for up to 10,000 homes, would be added on to both Rochford and Southend’s already massive housing targets - rather than being incorporated as part of them.

THE Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, has confirmed at Local Government Questions in the House of Commons that the proposed New Town, on the border of Southend and Rochford, for up to 10,000 homes, would be added on to both Rochford and Southend’s already massive housing targets – rather than being incorporated as part of them.

This revelation came in response to a question from Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, one of the two constituency MPs covering the Rochford district.

In his question, following the revelation in local media recently, Mr Francois said that the: “Labour-led Southend Council and Lib Dem-led Rochford Council are now planning to build a new town of up to 10,000 houses on the border between the two.

“But I understand that, as this is being done under the New Towns Fund, those numbers would be in addition to Rochford’s housing target, rather than part of it. So we’d be talking about nearly 20,000 properties by 2043, which is totally unsustainable given our creaking infrastructure as it is.

“Can the Secretary of State confirm: would those new town houses on the Rochford side be part of the target, or in addition to it?”

In response, the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, said: “We haven’t selected the locations for the new towns yet, and the New Towns Taskforce is still working on it, but we’ve been clear that the new towns will deliver over and above the targets produced by the standard method.

“This isn’t one of those new towns, because we haven’t designated them yet.”

Commenting further on the point, Mr Francois said: “I have nothing against New Towns per se, I grew up in one, but there is absolutely no way that the Rochford District can possibly accommodate all of the extra houses that would come from a New Town, if they are lumped on top of what could already be up to 15,000 houses across the Rochford District by 2043, if Labour have their way.

“We are still awaiting the publication of Rochford’s Draft Local Plan, now timed for this summer, but a combined total of approaching 20,000 houses in a semi – rural district would be completely and utterly unsustainable and politicians of all parties need to understand that.”

Picture: Mark Francois, getting Deputy PM Angela Rayner to confirm that the Rochford-Southend New Town would be in addition to already massive housing targets for Rochford.

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