Migration south 'not the answer'

A mass southward migration is not the answer to inequality in the UK, argues the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE).

Earlier this week the right of centre think tank Policy Exchange suggested the plight of northern cities – including Liverpool and Sunderland – has now become so acute residents should be abandoning their existing homes and heading south.

Such cities had "lost much of their raison d'etre" the report argues.

Already greeted with a volley of opposition – with Conservative leader David Cameron branding the report "insane" – and the chorus continues to grow.

Commenting on the findings the CPRE's senior planner, Kate Gordon, said: "It is difficult to find anything sensible in this report. Mass migration from north to south is the last thing struggling areas need.

"It would widen, rather than narrow, the gap between north and south. The message of this report seems to be that it really is grim up north and that it will continue to be so."

The CPRE is particularly concerned over the report's advocation of "significant liberalisation of land use in London and the south-east" and major expansion around London, Oxford and Cambridge.

This would lead to major loss of countryside, overdevelopment, congestion and create swathes of car-dependent urban sprawl, argues the CPRE.

Development on such a scale is likely to breach environmental limits since the south-east is Europe's most congested region which already faces acute water and sewerage supply constraints.

"Rather than scrap regeneration programmes, and encourage residents to abandon their communities and move south as the report proposes, the aim should be to improve services, public transport and jobs opportunities in areas where these are in short supply," added Ms Gordon.

"This will both improve quality of life in towns and cities and protect the countryside."

Chris O'Toole