Funding cut for homes plan angers county
Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber has threatened to withdraw the county's support for a massive house-building scheme.
Councillor Thornber has written to Minister for Housing and Planning John Healey MP, to tell him the council believes it has been 'released from an obligation' to build 176,000 houses in the next 20 years.
He was writing in response to the minister's decision, announced on Friday, to cut the county's capital grant for the scheme from 9,429,000, to 5,336,386.
The 4m, which would have helped build the homes and infrastructure such as roads, schools and surgeries, will instead be spent on building houses in the Midlands and north of England.
Councillor Thornber's letter, sent yesterday, said: 'I received your letter with dismay and disbelief. Hampshire has the second largest allocation of new housing in the South East, but this is dependent upon adequate infrastructure funding. Your predecessors in your government accepted that precondition.
'I am writing to advise you Hampshire County Council now regards your action as releasing us from that understanding.
'Would you kindly confirm that we are released from an obligation to build 176,000 houses in the next 20 years?'
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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