:01:30. > :01:34.And in the south-east... Are a multi-million-pound budget boost
:01:35. > :01:44.for the body charged with getting businesses to grow. For but how
:01:45. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :32:10.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1825 seconds
:32:10. > :32:14.I'm Natalie Graham and this is the Sunday Politics in the South East.
:32:15. > :32:17.Coming up in the next 20 minutes... Reckless or responsible? The
:32:17. > :32:21.councils which are set to defy national housing targets and
:32:21. > :32:24.downsize their plans to build new homes.
:32:24. > :32:29.Joining me in the studio today is Gareth Johnson, Conservative MP for
:32:29. > :32:33.Dartford, and leader of Hastings Borough Council, Jeremy Birch.
:32:33. > :32:37.There's been lots of discussion about roads in our region this week.
:32:38. > :32:40.The Bexhill link road was given Government funding in the Budget.
:32:40. > :32:44.The Chancellor also mentioned another Thames crossing in East
:32:44. > :32:54.London. We also heard that the A27 is costing the Sussex economy �2
:32:54. > :32:54.
:32:54. > :33:00.billion a year because of congestion. One would you welcome
:33:00. > :33:03.another crossing? We need to see what happens once
:33:03. > :33:07.week removes that all books on the Dartford Crossing. We do not know
:33:07. > :33:12.what effect that would have on traffic flows. That will happen in
:33:12. > :33:16.2013. Then we would get a better idea of exactly what is needed. It
:33:16. > :33:20.is going to come down to where the extra crossing is going to be.
:33:20. > :33:24.Decisions like that have got to be made with the consultation of the
:33:24. > :33:27.local population. The local councils have said they
:33:27. > :33:32.want the tolls abolished for the duration of the Olympics. We do
:33:32. > :33:39.that and that? That Mrs the wider point, that we should be removing
:33:39. > :33:46.the tolls completely. -- that Mrs. We're getting the next best thing.
:33:46. > :33:51.We're seeing that all broods removed from 2013. A London
:33:51. > :33:54.congestion Charge system will levied at the other motorists.
:33:54. > :33:59.How much difference will a small road make to your area?
:33:59. > :34:05.It makes a difference to the people that live on Bexhill road. It is
:34:05. > :34:10.the biggest single carriageway in East Sussex. There is also an air
:34:10. > :34:14.quality issue down there as well. But it opens up the possibility for
:34:15. > :34:18.North Bexhill, of which is right next to Hastings. 1000 new homes
:34:18. > :34:22.and 2000 new jobs. From a regeneration body, it is a major
:34:22. > :34:25.scheme. With rising prices and increased
:34:25. > :34:28.demand for housing in the South East, you'd think councils would be
:34:28. > :34:31.rushing to build as many new homes as possible. But that doesn't seem
:34:31. > :34:34.to be the case. When the new Localism Bill comes into effect,
:34:34. > :34:37.local authorities will be given the power to decide how much housing
:34:37. > :34:41.they want to construct. Surprisingly, some of them will be
:34:41. > :34:51.choosing to build fewer homes than the current legislation demands.
:34:51. > :34:59.
:34:59. > :35:02.Katie Inman has this report. This village in the mid- Sussex is
:35:02. > :35:06.just one of hundreds of towns and villages across the region that are
:35:06. > :35:10.facing the prospect of more development. Currently, there are
:35:10. > :35:14.70 houses here, but there are plans to build up to 90 more. One local
:35:14. > :35:21.resident could see 30 of those new houses built at the bottom of his
:35:21. > :35:25.garden. Last Monday, we had a meeting at the parish council. It
:35:25. > :35:28.was the most aggressive thing I have ever seen. Emotions and
:35:28. > :35:33.tensions were running extremely high. There was great antipathy
:35:33. > :35:37.running towards the parish council, the are seen as an opponent. They
:35:37. > :35:41.are purely putting forward this proposal that someone else has
:35:41. > :35:45.brought to them, the landowner. In terms of all the campaigning that I
:35:45. > :35:49.and others have been doing, I have not yet met one person in the
:35:49. > :35:52.village who wants this. previous Labour Government
:35:52. > :35:57.estimates that 650,000 new homes would be to be built here in the
:35:57. > :36:00.south-east. Consuls were set targets in a document called the
:36:00. > :36:05.South East plan, which set out how many new homes they will build each
:36:05. > :36:09.year. But the coalition Government has changed all that and wants
:36:09. > :36:14.local councils to decide how many homes should be built. As a result,
:36:14. > :36:17.some of them are scaling back on what the Labour Government demanded.
:36:17. > :36:22.Mid- Sussex District Council is one of the authorities considering
:36:22. > :36:26.reducing its annual house building target. Instead of building up to
:36:26. > :36:30.850 new homes here as set out in the south-east plan, they want to
:36:30. > :36:35.reduce that number by one third, building just over 500 new homes
:36:35. > :36:39.here instead. The leader of the council says their own figures are
:36:39. > :36:44.more realistic and reasonable. is not for us to question whether
:36:44. > :36:51.the South East plan numbers were right or wrong, but for Mid-Sussex,
:36:51. > :36:57.17,000 was to hide. We have done our own assessment which comes to
:36:57. > :37:01.10,600. 10,600 is still a high level of housing. One countryside
:37:01. > :37:05.campaigner has welcomed the fact that some councils could now be
:37:05. > :37:08.building fewer houses. If they have applied due diligence, they have
:37:08. > :37:12.weighed up all of the factors that determine the requirement for
:37:12. > :37:18.housing in their area and in their view, they come up with a lower
:37:18. > :37:23.figure. Then, that is democracy. It is a process that professional
:37:23. > :37:26.planners should be doing. We would support them. We asked every
:37:26. > :37:30.council in the south-east but they were planning to do with their
:37:30. > :37:34.targets. Nine said they would keep the bigger the same, seven said
:37:34. > :37:38.they were still in the process of deciding, but six councils told us
:37:38. > :37:42.they may reduce the figure for its. Any changes would still need to be
:37:42. > :37:47.approved by Government planning inspector. It could mean that far
:37:48. > :37:52.fewer homes are built here in the south-east. It would increase the
:37:52. > :37:59.her population... Are there are plans to build thousands of new
:37:59. > :38:08.homes just North of awesome. Local residents have come together to
:38:08. > :38:13.fight the scale of the proposal. do not want this. No one seems to
:38:13. > :38:17.be convinced that politicians will deliver what they say. David
:38:17. > :38:22.Cameron went on country file back in January saying he had no sooner
:38:22. > :38:26.put his own family at risk than could the countryside or green
:38:26. > :38:30.fields at risk. But if you talk to the local council, as we have, they
:38:30. > :38:34.are saying they're getting a very different message. That needs
:38:34. > :38:38.clarity. Consuls told us they wanted to reduce their own building
:38:38. > :38:42.targets because of concerns over the environment and infrastructure.
:38:42. > :38:47.For them, it will reduce what they see as the unsustainable over
:38:48. > :38:50.development of their areas. From our studio in Southampton we
:38:50. > :38:53.have Warren Finney, the South East manager for the National Housing
:38:53. > :39:00.Federation. You don't want to see house building slow down, but
:39:00. > :39:03.that's clearly what's going to happen?
:39:03. > :39:06.What the National Housing Federation wants to see is the
:39:06. > :39:10.right number of homes built for the right number of people. We have, on
:39:10. > :39:16.average, currently about 100,000 homes being built across the
:39:16. > :39:22.country. But about 250,000 new house will form. In the last number
:39:22. > :39:25.of years, not enough homes have been built and the south-east. We
:39:25. > :39:28.have over 225,000 households on housing waiting lists, which is a
:39:28. > :39:31.huge number of people who simply can't get access to the tides of
:39:31. > :39:35.homes they need. Are you worried about the Localism
:39:35. > :39:39.Bill? I am worried that we will not get
:39:39. > :39:44.the right number of homes. We need local authorities to be very robust
:39:44. > :39:47.about their plans. They need to make sure that they assess the
:39:47. > :39:51.housing needs, the economic needs and the prosperity growth over the
:39:51. > :39:54.next 10 to 15 years. You're not unnecessarily worried if
:39:54. > :39:58.the council decides to reduce the target from the south-east one?
:39:58. > :40:03.If they have robust plan that says that is what they need. The concern
:40:03. > :40:06.is when they are not taking a robust approach. That is where we
:40:06. > :40:10.will see housing numbers fall and there will be serious pressures on
:40:10. > :40:13.the local housing market. We will see more and more families and has
:40:13. > :40:16.told sleeping on Four's -- floors and sofas.
:40:16. > :40:20.Do you think the Government was expecting councils to increase
:40:20. > :40:24.their targets or decrease them? I think what it is doing is very
:40:24. > :40:27.much in tune with its localism theme. There are not going to have
:40:27. > :40:30.centralised targets, it is about local areas and local people
:40:30. > :40:34.through the local plan, through the neighbourhood plans, assessing what
:40:34. > :40:38.is needed local beef. Do you think that is the right
:40:38. > :40:41.thing? Do you think the Government should be giving councils that
:40:41. > :40:45.responsibility? It is what the Government is doing
:40:45. > :40:49.through localism. As long as local authorities are proactive in having
:40:49. > :40:53.a robust approach, it is not a problem. The problem comes and we
:40:53. > :40:57.do not have that reassessment of what is needed and we do not try
:40:57. > :41:00.and meet it. Is there any indication about --
:41:00. > :41:05.that a robust approach has not been followed?
:41:05. > :41:14.It is too early to tell. We have not seen enough examinations about
:41:14. > :41:16.local plans to know whether be a meeting true lead -- true need.
:41:16. > :41:23.That the average house price is 12 times the average salary in this
:41:23. > :41:26.region. Will building more houses necessarily solve that problem?
:41:26. > :41:30.It is fair to say that numbers are not the only answer. Numbers are
:41:30. > :41:34.absolutely important, but the average house price in the south-
:41:34. > :41:39.east is upwards of �290,000. In some areas and the south-east,
:41:39. > :41:43.you're looking at over 19 times the average salary. Clearly, we have a
:41:43. > :41:47.real housing issue and lending is not at the level we might need. We
:41:47. > :41:51.need to address all those issues. That is not only about numbers, but
:41:51. > :42:01.it is about having the right numbers in the right places.
:42:01. > :42:01.
:42:01. > :42:04.They argue. I know this is the current problem that you Council
:42:04. > :42:08.has directly tried to solve by lending money. What else you trying
:42:08. > :42:14.to do to encourage more housing for those that need it?
:42:14. > :42:17.We are not reducing our targets. I think you reducing them slightly,
:42:17. > :42:25.are due? We are sticking roughly around so
:42:25. > :42:28.the figure. I can remember the detailed discussions we had in
:42:28. > :42:31.developing the site these plans. It was based on what is a housing need,
:42:31. > :42:36.or what is the population growth, what is the likely growth in
:42:36. > :42:39.household, because with increasing numbers of single person households,
:42:39. > :42:43.especially as people live longer, you get a greater demand of homes
:42:43. > :42:47.even outstripping the increase in population. But the other thing we
:42:47. > :42:51.were trying to grapple with is that is if -- gave the south-east is
:42:51. > :42:57.going to be a buoyant economy, it will require more homes to cater
:42:57. > :43:02.for the staff we will need to cater for her -- to make sure the economy
:43:02. > :43:05.stays buoyant. You have to make sure you have a convincing evidence
:43:05. > :43:09.base and a robust approach. You have to think what you economy
:43:09. > :43:12.needs in 20 years' time, then we assume the recessions they have
:43:12. > :43:17.finished on the economy may be booming. How many people do you
:43:17. > :43:20.need a living in your area to provide the fodder for the economy?
:43:20. > :43:25.It sounds like you are generally supportive of the Localism Bill in
:43:25. > :43:28.that regard. The worry is that this new Bill will mean far fewer houses
:43:28. > :43:33.when you really need them. There is nothing wrong in wanting
:43:33. > :43:36.to protect the green spaces. The beauty of the Localism Bill is that
:43:36. > :43:40.it actually empowers local communities to protect their local
:43:40. > :43:44.areas. House building has increased since the election. Not as much as
:43:44. > :43:46.we would like it to. But it is about to decrease.
:43:46. > :43:49.will have to wait and see if that is true.
:43:49. > :43:53.We are breeding in various different initiatives which will
:43:53. > :43:57.help encouraged developers to build homes and encourage councils to
:43:57. > :44:00.give planning permission for developers to build new homes.
:44:00. > :44:03.We're also trying to ensure that first-time buyers are able to get
:44:03. > :44:06.their deposits. If the councils aren't building the
:44:06. > :44:09.homes that they were, the spill will call its problems in this
:44:09. > :44:15.region. There is no lack of planning
:44:15. > :44:21.permission being granted. Click across the Thames Gateway, there
:44:21. > :44:25.are 12,000 new homes being made. In many areas, it is not a case of the
:44:25. > :44:28.council's not saying you can have a new home, but for too long, will be
:44:28. > :44:31.have had the central targets which have led local communities to
:44:31. > :44:35.believe that there been imposed upon by central Government and that
:44:35. > :44:41.has led to a lack of outbuildings. I don't know what you make of that.
:44:41. > :44:44.We have heard from a council leader. What you think?
:44:44. > :44:49.The south-east has been renowned for many years as the engine room
:44:49. > :44:54.of the country from an economic perspective. The reason why that is
:44:54. > :44:57.is because we have the wide range of employees that employers can get
:44:57. > :45:01.access to. If we lose that to the wrong type of housing or even not
:45:01. > :45:04.enough housing, that will have a real detrimental effect. It is
:45:04. > :45:08.vital that we have the right number of phones and that local
:45:08. > :45:12.authorities meet local need. As long as local authorities to plan
:45:12. > :45:16.appropriately and have a thorough plan, then why these should not
:45:16. > :45:23.have a problem. It is when local authorities shy away from those
:45:23. > :45:26.responsibilities. A thank you.
:45:26. > :45:29.At the end of this week, the South East England Development Agency
:45:29. > :45:32.closes its doors for good and its place will be filled by a Local
:45:32. > :45:35.Enterprise Partnership. The South East LEP is getting �46 million
:45:35. > :45:37.from the government to promote new business in the region and has
:45:37. > :45:40.already secured two enterprise zones, including one in Sandwich,
:45:40. > :45:43.since it was set up in 2010. But critics say the organisation, which
:45:43. > :45:48.covers Kent, East Sussex and Essex, is too large to be effective and
:45:48. > :45:52.therefore suffers from some of the same problems as its predecessor.
:45:52. > :45:54.So will it be a business saviour or an ineffectual quango?
:45:54. > :46:02.Jeremy Birch, you're well placed to answer this question because you're
:46:02. > :46:08.a member of the LEP and were a member of SEEDA. How will the new
:46:09. > :46:12.organisation spend this �46 million?
:46:12. > :46:17.We have just had our first proper meeting and we are discussing their
:46:17. > :46:21.distribution of the growing places fund. It is currently �33 million.
:46:21. > :46:25.It is meant to be a recycling fund. It is actually a loan to the
:46:25. > :46:32.development project, which then repays into the pot, so the local
:46:32. > :46:35.enterprise parties could lend it again. Where are you going to lend
:46:35. > :46:43.it? There are about 12 projects that have been given the green
:46:43. > :46:50.light. A couple are in Dartford. Across the region in Essex as well.
:46:50. > :46:54.A good news for Dartford, then? It is. One of the first meetings
:46:54. > :46:58.took place today. It has to be a good idea to bring local
:46:58. > :47:04.authorities and business leaders together to try and actually get a
:47:04. > :47:08.private sector robust response to growth improved in this area. If
:47:08. > :47:15.you taking issues like the Thames estuary Airport, it is exactly the
:47:15. > :47:18.sort of thing that the South East LEP looks at to see if there for
:47:18. > :47:23.rhetoric instead. It is right that we have local authorities and
:47:23. > :47:27.businesses looking at those regional issues.
:47:27. > :47:34.We had that under SEEDA. Is this going to be better or more
:47:34. > :47:40.efficient? I mourn the demise of SEEDA and
:47:40. > :47:44.SVRs it was a very effective organisation. The local enterprise
:47:44. > :47:47.partnerships are here and we will make them work as best we can. But
:47:47. > :47:51.funding is nothing like Though of funding that the regional
:47:51. > :47:54.development agency had. The Regional Development Agency has a
:47:54. > :47:58.substantial number of staff who can go into towns and the south-east
:47:58. > :48:01.and work with us and discuss their businesses can improve and develop
:48:01. > :48:05.a regional strategy, all the things that the Local Enterprise
:48:05. > :48:10.Partnership a lot of their capacity to do. We're going to make it work.
:48:10. > :48:14.It has not got anything like the resource that SEEDA has.
:48:14. > :48:18.Do you think you could regenerate the Thames Gateway?
:48:18. > :48:24.That was part of the problem with SEEDA. It created a tour of
:48:24. > :48:29.bureaucracy that has -- had been very costly. We have got a far more
:48:29. > :48:34.streamlined system. Hopefully, it'll be far more effective than
:48:34. > :48:37.SEEDA. It was very unaccountable. In terms of specific projects, or
:48:37. > :48:39.one of them is that the Thames Gateway regeneration will be
:48:39. > :48:43.completed. You think it is realistic?
:48:43. > :48:47.I think there will be a big help for that area, because the Thames
:48:47. > :48:53.Gateway area covers North Kent and Essex as well. That is one of the
:48:53. > :48:56.reasons why we have the South East LEP at the size that the days. We
:48:56. > :49:02.have businesses looking at the opportunities that exist across the
:49:02. > :49:12.entire south-east area. It is time for a round-up of the
:49:12. > :49:12.
:49:12. > :49:17.Chancellor's Budget speech and the implications for our region.
:49:17. > :49:20.With the big story of the because the budget. Campaigners were happy
:49:20. > :49:25.but the MPs welcomed the confirmation of the Bexhill link
:49:25. > :49:29.road. He is something that the time in the community has waited for for
:49:29. > :49:33.over 10 years. Finally, it has been confirmed and but go-ahead. It is
:49:33. > :49:36.great for the economic growth in the area. And the Chancellor used
:49:36. > :49:40.his speech to point to what could be a potentially huge
:49:40. > :49:44.infrastructure projects. This country must confront at the
:49:45. > :49:49.lack of airport capacity in the south-east of England. That came
:49:49. > :49:52.just days after the Prime Minister made a speech calling for bold
:49:52. > :49:55.action and saying an estuary airport would be considered.
:49:55. > :49:59.will be bringing forward option in our aviation strategy, of which
:49:59. > :50:03.will include an examination of the pros and cons of an aviation
:50:03. > :50:06.Airport and the Thames estuary. we will have to wait until
:50:06. > :50:10.Transport Secretary publishes the findings of her Aviation Review in
:50:10. > :50:20.the summer to see if the plans, which critics call pie-in-the-sky,
:50:20. > :50:20.
:50:20. > :50:23.ever actually take off. We just heard the Prime Minister and
:50:23. > :50:27.Chancellor say been should really look at this estuary airport.
:50:27. > :50:30.What you think? It is right to have a look at it.
:50:30. > :50:34.We do have a lack of airport capacity in the south-east. But I
:50:34. > :50:38.think the wrong option would be to have an airport situated in the
:50:38. > :50:43.Thames estuary for environmental and logistical reasons. The cost
:50:43. > :50:47.would be enormous. Think about their jobs. The boost the economy!
:50:47. > :50:51.We would rearrange for the jobs are. What we need to do is look at other
:50:51. > :50:55.options, existing options, that we have, whether that is Manston
:50:55. > :51:03.airport or elsewhere. I would like to see those options looked at very
:51:03. > :51:07.carefully. Don't get me wrong, I want to see jobs coming into the
:51:07. > :51:10.area, but I think an airport in the Thames estuary would be an
:51:10. > :51:14.environmental disaster. You mentioned that the South East
:51:14. > :51:18.LEP would have to take give you miss. What you think about ba
:51:18. > :51:24.silent? The South East LEP will be taking a
:51:24. > :51:29.view. It is looking in the aviation capacity in the south-east. Boris
:51:29. > :51:35.Ireland is some way away from the and we are looking much more to
:51:35. > :51:39.Gatwick from a local point of view. Another runway there? After 26,
:51:39. > :51:43.then the opportunity would be there for a second runway. I think that
:51:43. > :51:46.could make a significant impact to the East of our region and there
:51:46. > :51:50.has to be a debate nationally about whether the whole of London and the
:51:50. > :51:52.south-east needs another hub airport. But we think Gatwick has a
:51:53. > :51:56.lot of potential. Thank you.