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Survey finds over half oppose government housing plans

07/03/2008

Over half of the British public oppose government plans to build three million homes by 2020, according to a survey from a charity campaigning on rural issues.

The survey, commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), found 53 per cent opposed the plans for new homes, with 46 per cent believing the extra developments would have a negative impact on communities.

Instead, 77 per cent of respondents wanted the government to prioritise bringing some of the country's 700,000 empty properties back into use, and around half of people polled thought building on derelict, or brownfield sites, was a priority.

But the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said the survey contributed nothing constructive to the housing debate and simply "panders to the vested interests of those who own expensive property in the countryside".

Rics public policy officer, James Rowlands said: "Housing a growing population is a challenge that faces the country as a whole, not just those who live in urban areas.

"While bringing empty homes back into use and building on brownfield sites should be the first step in meeting this challenge, sensible, well managed development on greenfield sites is also part of the solution.

"Simply preventing development in the countryside will do nothing to ease the serious problems faced by first-time buyers and young families looking for bigger homes."

The survey was published to coincide with a national advertising campaign from the CPRE to persuade people with concerns over housebuilding plans to contact the housing minister, Caroline Flint.