Hertfordshire Housing Target

I, too, congratulate the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr. Lilley) on obtaining the debate. I am sure—and the evidence set out by other hon. Members bears this out—that housing is a key issue in the area that he represents and in Hertfordshire in general. Indeed, when I was elected, in 2001, I did not realise what an important issue housing would be in my area. Wherever local authorities are involved in planning decisions, particularly about housing, there will always be stress and difficulty between people and families wanting to rent or purchase their first house or buy a bigger house to accommodate their growing family, and the residents already living in the area, who want to protect the environment and who fear that local services will not be sufficient to cope with the increase in population. Another aspect of the matter that has been drawn out in the debate is the despair that some people feel about centrally imposed targets and the difficulty that local authorities encounter in interpreting targets and trying to play their part in achieving them, when there are areas, such as the green belt in Hertfordshire and national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and other conservation areas elsewhere, that place real constraints on the availability of land for development. The East of England regional assembly has indicated, as I understand it, that there should be 478,000 new homes in the area. An independent panel considered the matter and increased the figure, and, indeed, the Secretary of State has increased it too. The real problem in Hertfordshire is that with a low unemployment rate an increase in economic activity will draw in people, who will need transport.