South East Forum For Sustainability

The South East Plan has finally been published and to much relief includes lower housing figures than originally proposed. This is a welcome move, however the region still produces more carbon emissions than any other in the country and reducing this will be a major challenge even with these housing levels.

SEFS Members are reviewing the new Plan however
Key changes that SEFS welcomes …

• Green infrastructure policy CC8 (though with reservation)
• Feedback loop in NRM5
• Housing numbers, although still high, are not set as a ‘minimum target’ (H1), and clarified as annual averages, not annual targets.
• Addition of environmental dimension into mainly economic policies (CC1; CC4; RE1; RE3; RE5; TSR2).
• Water policies NRM1 & NRM2 specify need to align with EC directives (birds directive, habitats directive, water framework directive)
• -Comprehensive rewording of Thames Basin Heath policy NRM6
• References to flood risk assessment/management in some sub-regional policies
• Safeguarding landscape setting/character of villages (BE1)
• Acknowledgement that wastewater treatment capacity could limit housing development in some sub-regions (e.g. LF3; WCBV3; SH5) and similarly waste management capacity (W3/W7)

Inevitable changes ….

• CO2 emissions reduction target – increased from 60% to 80% (CC2) in line with Government policy. The problem will be achieving this in the face of growth in the region’s population and associated housing and transport infrastructures, etc which are not guaranteed to do anything to reduce the per capita carbon footprint.
• Housing ambition reduced from level in Proposed Changes (662,500 minimum) to 654,000. This probably reflects current levels of build and prospects in near future given the current economic climate.

Whilst there is much to be welcomed in the Plan there are some disappointments:

• Sustainable homes – we are disappointed that there is no stated requirement to achieve high standards under the Code for Sustainable Homes. The region needs this commitment to support the ambition to reduce and stabilize our overall ecological footprint.
• Green Infrastructure policy has reduced emphasis on biodiversity (CC8)
• Overall growth ambition for SE remains wedded to average 3% per annum GVA growth. This remains the driver, but seems doomed to fail.
• Water supply policy NRM3 includes reference to desalination and bulk water transfer as possible strategic schemes.

The Plan now replaces in its entirity RPG9 and constitutes the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East.