Out of Whitehall

Among the issues under consideration by the committee was how the new homes being built in the South's four housing growth areas could be supplied with enough water to keep the power showers flowing. In their conclusions, the lords delivered a firm rap over the knuckles to the former ODPM, saying: "It is regrettable that the ODPM failed sufficiently to consult the water industry directly when formulating the sustainable communities plan and selecting the growth areas."

Most notably the report severely chided the government for its maths and methodology in calculating the water needed to supply the homes. The committee challenged the government's assertion that 200,000 new homes would require an extra 12 million litres of water per day by 2015, a 0.1% increase in total water use. Research it commissioned by professor Adrian McDonald of Leeds University concluded this was an estimate. The increase in water use by 2016 is expected to be more than 6% of current levels.

The committee said it found it "worrying" that housebuilding growth was not incorporated into water company plans, and recommended greater transparency from government and communication with the water industry. Significantly for developers, it advised that water companies should be statutory consultees on planning applications for large developments, and that the Environment Agency should also be a statutory consultee.

The Lords' conclusions received rapid endorsement. The RTPI, which has long been calling for an infrastructure plan to demonstrate how homes can be serviced, backed the report and called for a plan to be created urgently.

Those areas of the country unaffected by water shortage may still be mulling over recent deliberations of the Casino Advisory Panel working under Tessa Jowell's Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Local authorities across the country have been pinning big hopes for regeneration on the possibility of having a supercasino in their midst, and last month the CAP announced its provisional shortlist of bidders: Blackpool, Brent, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greenwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield are the chosen few, (a further 31 boroughs are competing to have large or small casinos).

Midlands bidders were upset at having lost out in the first round. Those still in the chase will now be the subject of consultation, with regional bodies and members of the public given the chance to have their say. The CAP will provide its final recommendations to Jowell by the end of the year.