Apr 06 2009
Protect our Green Belt
I am delighted that York City Council has refused the latest application to build a mobile phone mast on Green Belt land at the bottom of Church Lane in Huntington, thank you to everyone who joined my campaign against the proposal. However, as York City Council goes through its latest Local Development Framework proposals looking at where the City will be able to provided the 850 houses a year the Government is imposing on us, it begs the question, surely there must be a better way?
Our green and open spaces provide a precious amenity which is important to people living in and around York. However in our area, just as all over the country, the Government is implementing binding top-down housing targets through regional plans on local authorities. These are imposing unsustainable levels of development on local communities and as a consequence are putting our green belt under threat.
An incoming Conservative Government in direct contrast to Labour’s top down approach would abolish the whole process of regional planning, scrapping regional spatial strategies and return powers to local Councils. This means the number of homes to be built would be decided locally, putting local decision making at the heart of housing policy. This would enable us to protect our green belt and open spaces, which should be treasured for future generations to come.
