Object

Revised Development Strategy

Representation ID: 54763

Received: 25/07/2013

Respondent: Lindsey Selley

Representation Summary:

The projected housing need of 12,300 new homes to be built is much too high.

Less than half that number would meet local needs.

It is wrong to forecast as far into the future as 2029, and to allocate greenfield land now. It is akin to having no plan at all, allowing uncontrolled growth and leaving developers to decide what to build when.

Full text:

The purpose of this email is to record and express my concern and dissatisfaction with the local plans, for many reasons, including the following:

- they are poorly thought out. There are better alternatives eg. priorty to brownfield sites, release land as is needed, not in advance anticipation of creating non-existent demand

- Health: air quality will be severely damaged and and even further below the legal level permitted. District Council should improve air quality not damage it beyond repair for future generations.

- Noise levels will increase irreversibly, as will congestion

- Transport strategy is car based - how old fashioned and backward thinking!!

- Historic environment will be damaged and spoilt. We have responsibility to look after historic buildings and routes, not destroy or damage them.

- The projected housing need of 12,300 new homes to be built is much too high.
Less than half that number would meet local needs. It is wrong to forecast as far into the future as 2029, and to allocate greenfield land now. It is akin to having no plan at all, allowing uncontrolled growth, just leaving developers to decide what to build when.

Please do rethink this and protect local environment. Please do consider better alternatives: lower housing numbers to meet local needs, especially for houses which people can afford, instead of encouraging in-migration; gradually releasing
land for development as demand grows; giving absolute priority to using brownfield and infill sites near schools, shops and railway stations; building homes close to jobs; and cooperating with other local authorities, instead of competing with them for development.