Accommodating household growth in Britain

Abstract

A recent study explored some of the inherent difficulties in combining and coordinating a number of strategies to facilitate economic and physical growth across disciplines. By examining these issues in north Northamptonshire an area which represents a timely and ‘real-life’ case it was hoped to glean national lessons for others facing large scale housing growth, as well as contributing to policies and practices at a local level. The study sought to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by planning for and accommodating significant housing growth in a relatively short space of time.With a particular emphasis on housing and communities, it considered options for the most efficient and effective strategies and partnerships and what possibilities exist to exploit growth opportunities to ensure maximum area-wide, long term sustainability. This study concludes with a series of recommendations on how best to ‘join up’ and coordinate economic development strategies and aspirations, regeneration requirements and housing growth. This study also highlights the challenges in creating housing markets which can add value—economic and social—and how that value can be captured to meet social policy objectives.