Communities minister reveals housing targets for North-east

A plan to deliver homes, new infrastructure and jobs to the North-east has been unveiled by communities minister Baroness Andrews.

The North East of England Plan published today sets a number of targets for improving the North-east up to 2021. The plan sets out to deliver 128,900 new homes (7,600 a year) to meet housing needs, as well as accelerating economic development in the Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley regions.

Land for growth has been specifically reserved at a number of locations in the region, and in addition to mainstream infrastructure funding the government is making millions more available through the Community Infrastructure Fund and housing and planning delivery grants.

It is hoped that this will provide an incentive for councils to increase housing supply sustainably.

Baroness Andrews said: "We want to deliver a high quality of life for present and future generations by addressing housing shortages, strengthening the economy, modernising transport networks, protecting the environment and tackling climate change.

"Beyond the short-term squeeze of the credit crunch the population is ageing, more people are choosing to live alone and new households are growing faster than new homes. If more homes are not built now older people will have fewer choices, and the housing ladder will get even further out of reach leaving the next generation with nowhere to live.”