Government slammed for new homes project

Posted: 07 Jun 2006 09:41:34 GMT

With the south-east enduring its worst drought for a number of decades, the government has been heavily criticised for its plans to build thousands of new homes in the area.

Water companies have had to impose hosepipe bans and a number of other restrictive measures in recent weeks.

Despite this, it has been argued that they were never consulted by the government in relation to its house building intentions.

The Sustainable Communities Plan recently chose the Thames Gateway, Ashford, Milton Keynes, London, Stansted, Cambridge and Peterborough as the areas that should see increased house building in the next ten years.

But a damning report from a House of Lords committee has said that many of these are already suffering from water shortages, making it an extremely controversial move.

The committee's inquiry concluded that there was a basic lack of consultation over the potential problems associated with supplying these new properties with water and this has been described as "regrettable".

Lord Selborne, the committee's chairman, said: "Our key message is that the government must work much harder to integrate environmental, social and economic interests in the management of water."


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