Unused land owned by the public sector is to be turned over to housing as part of moves to increase the supply of more affordable homes. The National Regeneration Agency, English Partnerships, is to set out which sites will be used for 30,000 new properties. The areas will include former coalfields and surplus local authority land.
Plans for developments on the land will be subject to the full planning process. 

The Government is facing a call to outline clearly what local government’s role will be in planning offshore facilities, such as wind farms, to ensure there is greater integration with the planning of what happens onshore. The call has come from the Local Government Information Unit following the publication of the long awaited draft Marine Bill. 

Local authorities in four areas will benefit from 310 million pounds in Private Finance Initiative Credits to help divert more than a million tonnes of waste away from landfill. Defra says the projects will make a significant contribution towards Britain meeting its landfill directive targets.
All the projects aim to reduce the overall amount of waste created in line with the objectives set by the councils involved. 

New statistics show that almost half a million more people have signed up to be able to vote in time for next month’s local elections. Figures covering the period from December 2006 to the end of last year show registered voter numbers have increased to a record 46 million.
The report from the Ministry of Justice shows that in the past two years nearly a million new voters have joined the electoral register and are eligible to vote in the local elections. 

Politicians, leading academics and trade unionists will share ideas today on the development of improved public services. The Wales TUC and Cardiff University are bringing them for a conference designed to build on the Welsh Social Partnership Agreement. 

A local government think-tank says that the government and water companies are waking up to some hard truths about water supply and treatment. The Local Government Information Unit says councils and local people still have no control over water management in their areas.
The LgiU said a new report from the all party parliamentary water group, led by former Agriculture Minister, Elliot Morley had bluntly described the scale of the challenge. 

The first eco towns in the country have moved a step closer with the announcement of 15 locations which will be looked at in more detail. But conservationists have voiced disappointment with the shortlist and local government leaders have warned that the towns must have the support of local people, meet carbon reduction targets and not bypass planning procedures. 

Consultations have begun on plans for sweeping changes to the NHS in Wales. The proposals, unveiled by Welsh Assembly Health Minister Edwina Hart, are designed to make further reductions in bureaucracy, remove the internal market and improve patient care.
The proposals, which are out to consultation for three months, were published as three new NHS Trusts came into being following the merger of seven former bodies. 

England’s streets will become more civilised places only when the needs of pedestrians are given priority over car users, according to the Government’s advisors on urban design. A report today from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment says most streets are badly designed. 

People in England are increasingly unhappy over the level of public spending in Scotland but there is little evidence of a backlash against devolution, according to a new study. It found that only one in six people in England supported a separate English parliament and even fewer wanted an assembly in every region.