Three towns ask for more housing

Three towns in south-east England have applied for extra housing, the government has revealed.

Maidstone in Kent, and Horley and Redhill in Surrey, are among 20 areas across England to apply to expand beyond existing growth areas.

The government said that if all the bids were realised, 80,000 homes would be secured by 2016 in addition to existing plans.

An announcement on taking the schemes forward will be made in October.

The local authorities had to submit plans for housing growth linked into wider strategies for economic growth and town centre renewal.

We have an aging, growing population and house building rates are simply not meeting this housing demand Ruth Kelly

The government added that it would be working closely with other government departments and agencies to look at bids in more detail.

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: "Many of our regional towns and cities want to grow and are experiencing increasing housing pressures.

"We have an ageing, growing population and house building rates are simply not meeting this housing demand.

"Unless we build more homes across the board we face increasing problems of overcrowding, homelessness and pressures on first-time buyers."