News

Opposition councillors blast housing plans

By Stephen Lloyd
February 13, 2012

HART politicians have been branded cowards over their approach to future development in the area.

The Community Campaign Hart (CCH) group is unhappy that the ruling Tories want to compress the current 20-year development plan into a 10-year plan and build houses at double the previous projected rate.

CCH leader James Radley said there has been much press coverage about the controversy resulting from a move by a number of people around Winchfield to offer their land for consideration as sites for housing in Hart’s Local Development Framework (LDF).

“The LDF is itself controversial and despite an overwhelming negative response from public consultation, it still seeks to build an additional 700 homes on the green fields north of Crookham Village,” said Cllr Radley.

“However grim this seems, it appears likely that the situation will get worse as the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) looks set to substantially increase the number of new homes that will have to be built in Hart over the next 20 years.

“It seems unlikely that the main political parties on Hart Council will be able to go against the new housing targets being imposed by their government.

“However, you might think that a fundamental shift in housing numbers should lead to a major reassessment of the 20-year housing strategy.

“Alas, there is no sign of common sense at work within the ruling group at Hart.

“Instead, they want to compress the 20-year plan into a 10-year plan. Then after 10 years, they no doubt intend to come up with another short term 10 year plan.

“A 10-year plan is not just cowardice – putting off having to consider the unthinkable – but it also throws away the opportunity to think strategically.

“This leads to the sort of ill-thought out planning that has left Fleet & Church Crookham with congested roads and Crookham Village suffering as a rat-run.”

Hart’s Tory leader Ken Crookes hit back at Cllr Radley, saying: “This is deliberate mis-representation and political opportunism.

“Surprising, coming from a political party which claims to be non-political.”

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