03 November 2008

Natural England welcomes today's (Monday 3 November) Environmental Audit Committee report on Greener Homes for the Future, but calls for green development to be a priority for housing development at all times, rather than promoted solely at a time of economic downturn.

The EAC's report argues that the downturn of recent weeks presents an opportunity to revise the target of 3 million new homes by 2020 so that "more emphasis can be placed on environmental concerns". It looks for the government to review its house-building targets and related carbon budgets and wants the Government to strengthen planning policy so that the importance of protecting existing green belt boundaries is given a priority.

Sir Martin Doughty, Chair of Natural England, said, "Green development is always important, not only when the economy is in the red. High quality, locally distinctive and carbon-efficient homes, surrounded by green space which people can enjoy and in which wildlife can thrive, must be central to solving our housing needs. It shouldn't take an economic downturn to bring this emphasis to the fore.”

Natural England welcomes the EAC's recommendations that:

• Stress the importance of environmental quality in the design of all new homes, particularly in their efficient use of natural resources.
• Call for the full incorporation of the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes into Building Regulations.
• See a return of a sequential planning policy that gives priority to the development of brownfield land over greenfield sites; whilst recognising that some brownfield sites have high value as open spaces or wildlife habitats.
• Encourage a sustainable approach to the provision of the new infrastructure needed to support housing development. Natural England agrees with the idea of a sustainable approach to new transport infrastructure and endorses the Committee's concern that sufficient priority might not be given to green infrastructure in the current economic climate.