Proposals in the Localism Bill to drop house building targets and give communities more power to influence local housing development could cut much needed development in the South East.

Speakers at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) South East Conference in Brighton this week urged housing associations and local authorities to take the lead on driving house building in the region.

Shelagh Grant, Chief Executive of the Housing Forum highlighted the challenges of high land prices and high cost of borrowing to build and said: "The abolition of targets detracts from the need to increase housing supply." She added: "provision of housing in the future will become more complex [but] we need to have an ambition to grow…and housing associations have to drive delivery [of housing] in their area." She said that this was an aspect of the Big Society that people needed to be reminded about.

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In the same session at the conference, Ben Page, Chief Executive of pollsters Ipsos MORI highlighted the challenge for housing organisations and the potential risk of residents blocking new housing development. He quoted his experience that "people are more likely to get involved for negative reasons than for positive ones” and emphasised that “the no vote has a powerful proposition all of its own".

Claire Martin, Immediate Past Chair of CIH South East, said: "Many details of the Localism Bill are yet to be worked through and we are yet to see how initiatives such as the New Homes Bonus and the Local Development Framework will impact on housing delivery in the region. Housing is a central plank of the economic recovery in the South East and crucial to our future. We will be keeping a close eye on developments during this transition period."

(CD/GK)