Tragic blow to Kent landscape

Chris Britcher’s article [April 8] is an obituary for the garden of England. This level of

housebuilding – plus other massive building projects like the Graveney solar plant, the lorry parks and customs facilities – spells the end of Kent’s countryside. It is being urbanised. Many like myself think this is a tragic blow to Kent’s landscape and wildlife. Local people haven’t been consulted about this government’s ‘build build build’ mania. Planning ‘reforms’ have progressively destroyed local democratic input. Locals who object are ridiculed as nimbys, but your article shows the truly devasting scale of what’s happening.

Councils are being forced to ‘give up’ previously undeveloped land to meet housing targets imposed by central government. The government claims there isn’t enough brownfield (i.e. previously developed) land to meet the crisis of affordable housing. But the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s most recent ‘State of the Green Belt’ report shows these are myths. There is enough brownfield land to accommodate the 300,000 houses a year which the government claims are needed. And CPRE has also exposed that this building bonanza does nothing to solve the crisis of affordable housing. Most of Kent’s new builds are 4-5 bed, executive style housing in low density, car-dependent developments.

The real reason developers want

previously undeveloped sites is because they are massively more profitable than clearing brownfield sites.

The developers aren’t interested in affordable housing either. Kent’s urbanisation is being done by bulk builders seeking easy profits building big houses in high demand areas: Taylor Wimpey, Barratt, Redrow, Persimmon.

And don’t be fooled by their offers to “mitigate the loss of biodiversity” in the fields and woodlands they commandeer. Kent University’s Durrell Institute has shown that the loss of ancient trees, hedgerows and once abundant species is never compensated by what the developers provide.

Across the country campaign groups are waking up to the fact that our countryside is disappearing simply to feed the hungry beasts of the construction industry. It’s time our councils challenged these government targets and the myths behind them. And we need to hold them to account in protecting our countryside.

John Ellis

Marine Terrace, Whitstable