‘Inflated’ new housing targets blasted by MP
17,357 homes ‘unsustainable’
PRESSURE is continuing to mount on the government to scrap ‘unsustainable’ housing plans which could see Portsmouth being lumped with thousands of new homes.
Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan has become the latest politician to blast the government over its proposed planning reforms.
Under the scheme, the city will be forced to build 17,357 new dwellings by 2038.
Now, Mr Morgan has written to housing secretary Robert Jenrick to raise his frustration over the ‘inflated targets’ and appeal for any delivery of new homes to be ‘sustainable’ and integrated with the right infrastructure.
The plea comes as the head of Portsmouth City Council, Councillor Gerald VernonJackson, wrote to Mr Jenrick warning him of the ‘damaging’ impact thousands of new homes could have on the island.
‘The government’s inflated housing targets are totally unsustainable for our densely populated city. They risk overwhelming local infrastructure and endangering our treasured natural environments,’ Mr Morgan said.
‘I want to see a flexible planning system that delivers the homes we need while placing local people at the centre of decisions that affect our city.
‘Algorithms and formulas can never be a substitute for local knowledge and decision-making by councils and communities who know their area best.’
A new planning bill, due to be published in the coming months, is likely to force local authorities to adopt new housing targets. Under the proposed reforms, planning powers of elected local officials would be weakened, in favour of Whitehall-appointed boards of developers.
Boards will oversee a new zonal system that allows developers to build at will in areas designated for growth.
Communities will be consulted only in the development of five-yearly local plans and will be gagged from intervening in individual planning applications.
In response, the housing minister committed to meet Mr Morgan and local planners to discuss their concerns and deliver a more sustainable housing plan.
However, despite the plea no date is yet to be set for the meeting, Mr Morgan said.
Mr Jenrick has said the government has a ‘duty’ to build more affordable housing nationwide but he said overall targets to build new homes ‘won’t change’.