THE NEED for more affordable housing is key to the future of the South East.

But it can only be delivered if all the regional partners work together in a collective, effective and integrated manner.

That was the message from a recent affordable housing conference in Maidstone, Kent.

The conference, "Raising the Game- Delivering more Affordable Housing in the South East", was a joint initiative organised by the South East England Regional Assembly with Warden Housing Association, Pavilion Housing Association, the House Builders' Federation, the National Housing Federation and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The conference, which brought together more than 60 practitioners in the housing industry varying from local authorities to registered social landlords (RSLs) and housing developers, included presentations from Christine Whitehead, Professor of Housing at the London School of Economics and John Hack from the DTLR Affordable Housing Unit which was set up by Lord Falconer in September 2001.

Delegates were also given the opportunity to discuss key issues such as planning obligations and funding in a series of workshop sessions.

Mike Gwilliam, Director of Planning and Transport at the Regional Assembly said: "Affordable housing has become a critical issue in the South East and a key one for our members.

"It is vital that we find new and innovative ways to remove the obstacles to delivering more affordable housing and that we do it quickly.

"This can only be done if all those involved in the affordable housing agenda work together."

The Assembly's sentiments were echoed by Sharon Hedges, National Housing Federation Policy Officer for the Southern region, who said: "It is vital that new partnerships are developed which will bring all the people who have a stake in this to the table.

"Only then will we able to come up with new ways of thinking about delivering affordable housing.

"It is also vital that we get more resources to deliver more housing. In addition to increased funding for current rented and homeownership products, we need a new additional funding stream which will allow us to deliver new products to meet the broader range of needs of those who need intermediate housing such as key workers."

The recommendations from the conference will be reported to the Assembly's Regional Planning Committee on June 12.