Groups criticise research from new first time buyer unit

08-Jun-2007

Research revealed by the newly-created National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) - designed to make it easier for first time buyers to get onto the housing ladder – has been criticised by two separate organisations, it has been revealed.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has said that the NHPAU's suggestions for resolving the crisis must not neglect environmental concerns.

Meanwhile the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has labelled the plans to boost the supply of housing as a "knee-jerk reaction" that does not take into account other factors such as mortgage lender rates or building industry sentiment.

"We are dismayed that, in the first utterance of this supposed independent body, it appears to put forward the simple knee jerk reaction that planning needs to release more land. This issue is much more complex than such rhetoric assumes and it demands a more sophisticated analysis than the new Unit appears to be engaged in," commented RTPI director of policy and research Kelvin MacDonald.

"Where and how development takes place profoundly affects the quality of local neighbourhoods and the local environment – it is important the new body understands this. A narrow economic focus would have devastating consequences for communities and the environment, added CPRE senior planning officer Kate Gordon.

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