Press Releases for 2004

GREENS COMMEND SWITCH TO BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT - Berkeley Homes to concentrate on urban apartments

14th June 2004

East Kent Green Party welcomes the switch by the Berkeley Group (Berkeley Homes) away from conventional housebuilding towards urban apartments(1). The Green Party has long argued that urban regeneration of town centres depends upon increasing the population living in town centres. This also meets the social objective of providing for the main source of housing demand: single people. Steve Dawe comments:

"East Kent Green Party was heartened to hear that leading architect Richard Rogers(2), of the Government's Urban Task Force, had given his support to Green MEP Caroline Lucas MEP in the recent European Elections. We now find that Berkeley Homes a major developer in southern England, such as in the case of the West Station Goods Yard in Canterbury is to concentrate on brownfield apartment-style developments (3). This is particularly interesting as this company has been very successful in predicting housing market trends in the past. It also already has managed to put 95% of its developments on brownfield sites.

"The Government believes that 70% of housing demand up to 2016 will be from single people. Generally, local councils are not giving planning permission to enough apartments despite evidence of such demand. Development on or above existing surface car parks would meet the social need of single people wanting decent housing and create more council tax revenue for local councils. Regeneration of derelict areas and poor quality estates could be amongst the results of such developments.(4)" ENDS c250 words

FURTHER INFORMATION: Steve Dawe, Press Officer, on 01233 645167 or 07904 382203. Contact address: 10 Hillbrow Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 4QH. Steve Dawe teaches environmental policy, international development and social studies part-time in Higher Education and also works part-time for East Kent Green Party. He is also Co-Secretary of the South East Confederation of Green Parties and a member of the Campaigns Committee of the Green Party of England and Wales.

Notes:

1. The Berkeley Group already had a commitment to sustainability, see: http://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=26

2. Richard Rogers (Lord Rogers) is the co-author of a critique of the Government's urban policies: Cities for a small country Richard Rogers and Anne Power (Faber, 2000);

3. Jeremy Warner Pidgley puts his money on urban regeneration The Independent, 26th June 2004; 4. Urban Regeneration supplement The Observer, 27th June 2004.

Site design and
management by

providers of

designed for

using

Computers

and VALID

Updated by
Philip
27th March 2005