Richard Jackson, strategy development adviser at the agency, said: "We are doing the research as part of a broader strategic overview. [The supply of utilities] is one of the issues that we need to get a really good grasp of for planning purposes.
"We need to establish what we have now, so that we can plan for additional demand and how we can meet that. We also need to work out what role there should be for the LDA. If need be, we will do something," he said.
The news follows reports last month that developers in the Thames Gateway were already struggling to strike affordable deals with private sector suppliers for electricity (HT 23 May, page 7).
Councils and housing associations have also expressed concerns over the availability of other infrastructure such as roads, railways and bridges that will be needed to deliver the Communities Plan across the South-east.
The agency is currently negotiating with potential bidders to conduct the research.
It declined to reveal how much it would spend on the study, but said it expected the results to be available by this autumn.
Source
Housing Today
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