Conservatives act to review housing numbers

The Conservatives on Stratford District Council have ordered an urgent review of its key planning and housing policies after the new coalition government confirmed plans to scrap Regional Spatial Strategies.

Immediately after the Queen's Speech promised legislation within 18 months to "return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils", Cllr. Gill Roache (Con. Vale of the Red Horse), the council's planning portfolio holder, said:

"I will be sitting down without delay with planning officers to see how we move forward. The aim will be to reduce the 7,500 dwellings imposed on us by the previous government - which before the election we said we would do given the opportunity.

"The promise of early legislation obviously changes everything. We don't yet have all the details but it's reasonable to assume we can revisit the draft Core Strategy and revise it in line with what the District wants, not what regional or central government felt was best for us.

"We have always said that 7,500 new homes is far too many and that we would like to cut the number with the aim of keeping them as low as possible without compromising our ability to meet our future housing needs.

"Now it looks as if we are free to set our own numbers based on our assessment of local housing needs, including affordable housing - and that will be welcomed by everyone in Stratford and elsewhere in the District."

Cllr. Roache added: "Nick Clegg and his LibDem Ministers and MPs will all support the legislation. Therefore, I hope the local LibDems will now call off their phoney war on over-development in Stratford and elsewhere and work with us on agreeing new numbers.

"It's time they stopped trying to score political points on an issue where we had no control before, and instead joined us in listening to what people in the District have to say about future development and housing numbers."

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