8:10am Sunday 14th March 2010
By David Paine
A WORCESTERSHIRE MP’s calls for the Government to abandon plans to build up to 25,500 new homes across the south of the county have been rejected.
Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff asked the Communities and Local Government Secretary John Denham to tear up the West Midlands regional spatial strategy and allow local communities to decide on housing numbers.
The Conservative party has publicly said it would scrap the strategy if it won the general election, giving more decision-making power back to local councils. Labour, however, said scrapping the strategy would result in housing needs not being met and would also throw the construction industry into disarray.
During question time in the House of Commons last week, Mr Luff said: “Given the consensus that exists in areas such as south Worcestershire about the need for more homes, and for more affordable homes in particular, may I urge the Secretary of State, even at this late stage, to tear up the West Midlands regional spatial strategy and to allow local communities to decide exactly how many houses they need and precisely where they should go?”
In response, Mr Denham said: “It is important that the combination of local, regional and national policy should be used to secure sufficient homes to meet the needs of families in this country in the future.
“We have rejected calls to scrap regional spatial strategies and planning targets and to leave everything to decision-making at local level because we know that the house-building industry would grind to a halt, that land would not be available, that growth would be slowed and that the needs of this country’s families would not be met.
“The house-building industry is terrified by the prospect of such a policy being brought into play.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Luff said: “This Government just doesn’t trust people – it prefers to impose the views of remote bureaucrats in regional organisation and Whitehall departments.
“People will be horrified to see this confirmation of contempt for their views.”
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