Homes and jobs must be linked if the Midlands is not to see a
new generation of sink estates, the Government has been told.
Business Voice WM stressed that "the needs of new housing and
the needs of economic development must go together hand in
hand".
The warning came in BVWM's submission to the West Midlands
Select Committee on Planning for the Future: Housing and Economic
Development in the West Midlands.
The lobby group cautioned: "The lessons of the past - when land
for housing seemed to take very little cognisance of the need for
land for local jobs - meant these new housing areas became
economically unsustainable in the medium to long term.
"This led to negative life chances for people living on these
estates and - economically speaking - was a drag on the whole
regional economy, holding back greater prosperity for all families
in the West Midlands region.
"These mistakes of the past should not be allowed to be repeated
in the future.
"The silo approach to addressing housing and economic
development must end."
Business growth was also held back by the lack of affordable
homes.
The report continued: "This principle needs to be firmly taken
into account as there is now a large affordability gap for housing
in rural areas and this does not seem to receive the consistent
attention that this urgent issue requires. Regional and local
planners need to focus on the steps they can positively take to
close this gap if the rural economy - and its need for key workers
- is to be addressed.
"However, it can not end there. Local authorities - working with
the business sector - must develop a clear framework for what
allocation of proposed new housing needs to be classed as
affordable."
BVWM said it was pleased that the Government had opted for a
single regional strategy rather than the competing visions of
Advantage West Midlands and the West Midlands Regional Assembly -
the latter is being scrapped.
It stated: "The business community warmly welcomes the
decision to dispense with two regional strategies and two sets of
public agencies dealing with separate economic development
plans.
"This duplication of activity did not make economic sense and
led - on occasions - to conflict.
"The long term planning for economic development was undermined
by this confusion.
"Business Voice WM has continually advocated the stance that
regional planning exists to provide added value to the work of
local authorities - and regional planning should not be a top down
approach that ignores the needs and sensitivities of local
communities.
"However, we do consider that there is still a role for regional
planning - particularly in the West Midlands region. Developments
in one locality will have an impact on other localities in the West
Midlands region - even though they may be many miles apart -
because of the close economic synergies across the West Midlands
region."