Editorial Citizen W/E 14th February 2003

PRESCOTT ANOUNCES LOADS OF NEW HOMES
BUT NO NEW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Report by John Gearing FRICS

The Government has announced plans for vast expansion of the house building programme aimed at soaking up the increased demand for homes in the South East. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott unveiled his vision of how to meet the country's growing need particularly for low cost homes. The M11 corridor is targeted as one such area destined to accept a share of the new homes. No locations have been identified but the area stretches from East London through Bishops Stortford to Cambridge. Uncertainty as to where the development will take place will no doubt reign for many years adding to the existing uncertainty as to the development of Stansted Airport (One runway up to three runways.) This of course will add further blight to the area making buying homes in the area a complete lottery.

What appears to have been completely forgotten in the rush to satisfy the homes demand is that employment opportunities will have to be provided alongside the extra population influx to the southeast otherwise the road and transport networks will reach gridlock as employees travel into existing conurbations for work.

Although Stansted Airport is seen as the "Golden Pot" of employment opportunities in the M11 corridor it is already a fact that the affluent residents in the area are not providing the supply of low cost workers needed and therefore BAA are looking to inner City areas to provide that much needed supply and are providing their own transport facilities to assist.

What the Government must consider as a matter of priority is setting aside areas within the development plans be it Brownfield or Greenfield in order to make provision for the development of work places such as Offices, Science Parks, Business Parks, Factories and Laboratories together with controlled retail parks that will form the spine of the economy of the area. Many old established businesses and industries in the area have been lost to residential sites as a result of the increase in land values and the encouragement of redundant factory (Brownfield sites) to be redeveloped. These lost business locations must be replaced with modern state of the art business premises that can compete in an International market place.

The M11 Corridor is set to change dramatically - the expansion of Stansted airport has sealed the fate of the area - the Planners and Government have every opportunity to ensure that the balance is right, that opportunity must not be wasted.

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