Call to scrap regional strategy

Robert WalterMP (North Dorset) lends his support to EDM 2257, which urges the Secretary of State Hazel Blears to abandon the South West Regional Spatial Strategy entirely.

The Early Day Motion, initially proposed by Conservative MP for Weston-Super-Mare John Penrose, has quickly gained the support of Members of Parliament throughout the South West – and especially in Dorset.

In addition to Bob Walter MP Dorset signatories include Oliver Letwin MP (West Dorset), Robert Syms MP (Poole), Annette Brook MP (Mid Dorset & North Poole), Sir John Butterfill MP (Bournemouth West) and Christopher Chope MP (Christchurch).

Bob is keen to highlight the fact that objections to the Draft Revised Regional Strategy for the South West – the public consultation stage of which ended on 24 October – cross the political divide, and stresses that the numerous concerns raised over its proposal are based on logic and reason, and not the result of ‘Nimbyism’ as some have been too quick to suggest.

Bob also wants to register his full support for the findings of the recent Labour-dominated, cross-party Commons Environmental Audit Committee, which has independently reinforced the concerns already highlighted by Dorset MPs, local authorities and thousands of members of the British public regarding the vast and totally inappropriate new housing figures endorsed by the Secretary of State in July.

Bob says:

“I obviously welcome the conclusions of the Committee’s ‘Green Homes for the Future’ report, which appears to fully endorse many of the concerns myself and my parliamentary colleagues in Dorset and the South West have been raising for some considerable time about development on Green Belt land over brownfield sites; the total absence of support for new or improved supporting infrastructure; and above of the ludicrous figures proposed for housing development that have run rough-shod over the views of experts and local council officers alike.

“There is an ever growing groundswell of opinion against the South West Regional Spatial Strategy and considerable resentment that such an important document has been imposed on all of us with little or no regard for local knowledge or expertise.

We all want decent housing for local people, and I know that our local councils are working really hard to achieve this. But it should be up to local communities and their elected representatives to decide when, where and how much new housing our infrastructure and environment can cope with.”