Planning Resource: "Home Counties warn they cannot meet London's housing shortfall"

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"More than 20 councils in the Home Counties have expressed concerns to London mayor Boris Johnson that his key planning document does not meet the capital's level of housing need, warning that a potential overspill from the city could put strains on their local services.

"The fears were raised in response to the Greater London Authority's (GLA's) consultation on the draft Further Alterations to the London Plan (FALP), which sets the capital's ten-year housing target at 42,000 homes a year.

"The councils pointed out that the plan's target falls well short of the annual housing need of 49,000 to 62,000 homes, set out in the GLA's own strategic assessment.

"Many called for the mayor to do more to increase housing supply in the capital and warned of increased pressures on their roads, railways, schools and health services."

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"Population growth estimates downgraded"

"Official figures that will form the basis of a new set of household projections that councils are expected to use to assess their housing needs predict the population of England will grow at a slower rate over the next 10 years than suggested by interim data published two years ago.

"The 2012-based subnational population projections, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), predict the population of England will grow by 7.2 per cent over the ten years to mid-2022, with London (13.1 per cent), the East of England (8.6 per cent) and the South East (7.8 per cent) experiencing the highest levels of growth.

"But the rate of population growth projected by the new figures is lower than that set out in interim projections published by the ONS in September 2012."