ESRC Tensions and future prospects Briefing Note 2: Does the idea of 'Sustainable Urban Extensions' still have a future?

Many SUEs are in case locked into land deals and development options which mean for some years local authorities have very little leverage or room for manoeuvre. Unless they can CPO land or purchase options there is little they can do. Their main threat is not to renew planning permission but this may be challengeable. Only if Government comes up with infrastructure funding to unlock sites or the HCA has more funding for affordable housing schemes can they get any leverage. Ideas for introducing community land trusts or co-housing schemes have barely got off the ground in MK/Northamptonshire and are not yet on the table when considering large sites. There is little evidence of an “open book” approach to negotiation. Crucial information on the cost of land, development options, developer profit which might give public authorities a chance to challenge the house builders development model, is not in the public domain. In many cases local authorities feel so disempowered or under-skilled they do not even ask for this information. A key question is whether some SUEs could proceed despite current economic uncertainties where a decent % of land asset is already in public sector, for example on MK Partnership land in Milton Keynes and on HCA land around Northampton. At what price and structure would this land have to be put in to attract private sector interest in this economic climate? Similarly has the HCA scheme for deferred payments on land been effective?