In response to the Autumn Statement, CPRE chief executive Roger
Mortlock said:
On the extension to the mortgage
guarantee scheme:
"People are crying out for genuinely
affordable and social rented homes, both of which are in
desperately short supply in all parts of the country. This
morning, the government announced an extension to the mortgage
guarantee scheme but nothing about investing in the kinds of
housing that will help to fix our hidden rural housing
crisis.
"The government must act now to ensure
there is a supply of the homes people need. If it doesn’t, the
future of our countryside communities will be at
stake."
On stamp duty rebates for people who
makes their homes more energy
efficient:
"We agree with the government that
people’s homes need to be more energy efficient, for the sake of
both the planet and people’s pockets. But why is there still no
requirement for new houses and other buildings to include solar
panels? The proposed stamp duty rebates are a drop in the ocean
when what we need is a rooftop solar revolution. Only by making
huge changes to the way we generate our electricity will we meet
our zero obligations and protect the countryside for generations
to come.
"New homes should set the standard for
energy efficiency. To turn this into a reality, the government
must be bold and make rooftop solar panels compulsory in all new
developments, not fiddle around with things like stamp
duty."
On individual payments to people with
new energy infrastructure built close to their
property
"Planning decisions should be in the
wider public interest rather than just being about compensating
people for loss of property values. Individual householder
payments don’t make sense for rural communities. It would be far
better for National Grid and others to invest in community energy
schemes that make communities as a whole better able to adapt to
climate change and move towards net
zero.
"The National Grid already works to
bury existing or new pylons in protected landscapes, but that is
because improving these landscapes is a benefit for the whole
nation rather than just those who live near to where the
undergrounding takes place.
"When the will is there, we can
protect our iconic landscapes and meet our nation’s energy
needs."
