Category Archives: Greenbelt

Catching up with local Residents Associations

On Friday afternoon I had a valuable catch up (via Zoom) with the Cobham and Downside Residents Association (CDRA) and Federation of Oxshott Residents and Associations (FEDORA).

We had a good discussion about the forthcoming Elmbridge Local Plan, which Elmbridge Borough Council recently announced will be published for consultation in the new year. Local Conservative councillors are clear – we oppose the option with development on Green Belt land. We call on the Lib Dems and Residents Associations running the council to follow our lead in protecting the Green Belt.

We also spoke about the government’s reforms to the planning system. I talked the associations through my responses to the relevant government consultations. I also questioned why the current coalition of Lib Dems and (other) Residents Associations running Elmbridge Borough Council have left us vulnerable to higher housing targets through their failure to put a Local Plan in place – despite having been in control of the council for three out of the last four years.

Finally, the associations gave me a useful update on the stretch of the A244 which runs through Oxshott. There have been important safety concerns about the road, which I am taking up on residents’ behalf with Surrey County Council. My thanks to the CDRA and FEDORA for taking the time to discuss these important local issues.

Catching up with Elmbridge Friends of the Earth

On Friday, I caught up with Heather Fraser and Christine Manly from Elmbridge Friends of the Earth. It was good to hear their views, and we had a good discussion about the action the government is taking to tackle climate change.

The UK has a strong record in this area, having decarbonised our economy faster than any other G20 country since the start of this century. In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass a net zero emissions law, requiring us to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

This international leadership, and our commitment to Build Back Greener by becoming the world leader in clean wind energy, puts us in a good place as we prepare to host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow next year.

While climate change and environmental protection are global challenges, they also have real importance in local communities. In Elmbridge, we can see this in the strong attachment to our Green Belt. With this in mind, it was good to re-affirm to Heather and Christine the local Conservatives’ clear commitment to protecting it for future generations.

Planning Reform

I wrote a column for the Mail on Sunday, today, setting out the government’s approach to planning reform in advance of publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework tomorrow.

Planning reform is an important part of our housing strategy, to build the homes we need and make the more affordable for those on low and middle incomes, and thereby revive the dream of Britain as a property-owning democracy for the next generation. You can read the column here.

Friends of Hurst Park

On Friday, I visited Friends of Hurst Park, a local group of people who are campaigning to protect and preserve the Hurst Park Meadow area. I had a good chat with the group about their aim to guarantee green space status for Hurst Park. They are concerned about the potential risk of future developments on Hurst Park and the surrounding meadows and would like to keep the areas protected, not least due to flooding concerns and to ensure local wildlife and nature is protected.

My thanks go to Jill Sanders and her team for hosting me and engaging in a thoughtful and interesting conversation. You can read more about Friends of Hurst Park here.

New Planning Guidance

Chairman of the National Trust, Simon Jenkins, has an interesting piece in the The Guardian today, rather begrudgingly accepting that the final version of the National Planning Policy Framework (published yesterday) strikes a ‘sensible’ balance. It is worth a read here. The Telegraph also back the revised guidance, summarising the changes here.

I support cutting the bureaucracy involved in planning, not least because it ties up councils and taxpayers’ money in a protracted and prolonged procedural war of attrition. However, both privately and publicly, I have made the case for stronger local checks on development. I engaged in extensive local consultation with Elmbridge councillors and residents, and having received those views I wrote to Ministers and the PM, and spoke in the House of Commons debate.
Salient points from the new guidance include:
  • Defining ‘sustainable development’ to include the local environment, not just economic development.
  • Requiring development of brownfield sites before others.
  • Letting local and accountable councils lead the way with with local plans – the new guidance applies where there is no plan or it is out of date.
  • Clear green belt protections that are not trumped by the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
  • Greater powers to prevent garden-grabbing.
I don’t think the new guidance is perfect. But, it is much better both than the previous draft and Labour’s top-down system of housing targets. A sober read of it should dispel some of the irresponsible scaremongering that has been doing the rounds of late.

Local School Pioneers Local Sustainability

On Friday, I joined Ashley School for the opening of a new Surrey-species apple orchard. It is part of an environmental educational project to teach children about the food cycle and sustainable local environments. The school is the only place in the UK to have all 28 native Surrey apple varieties!

There will be a structured educational programme for the pupils, which will become part of their educational curriculum and will cover everything from the planting and nurturing the trees to harvesting, cooking and composting. The project has been backed by Fourfront Group, which has also helped the school plant soft fruit bushes and the purchase of 10,000 bees at the school.

Ashley School is a real pioneer in this area. I was amazed by what they are striving to achieve, and impressed with the curiousity and energy the project has infused in the children.
(Dom opens the new orchard pioneered by Ashley School and three local Dads Matthew, Darryl and Lee – with support from Ben Murray from Fourfront Group, Chris Collins from Blue Peter and Jackey Chave from RHS)

Affordable Housing in Elmbridge

Development is one of the thorniest local issues. On the one hand, we are blessed with 57% greenbelt in this borough – and we want to protect our open spaces. On the other hand, there is an acute shortage of affordable homes.

The government’s answer is twofold. First, to scrap the top-down housing targets (such as the notorious South East Plan) and replace them with a policy that allows local councils to set their own housing policy in consultation with local people. Second, to incentivize the provision of affordable homes, government will give councils extra investment for each new home built – to help pay for extra public services and infrastructure.

This approach makes sense. It allows the local community to determine the balance of development, and offers carrot not stick, to incentivize provision of new affordable housing – whilst remaining sensitive to the wishes of local residents. This week, I opened Wardur Court and House, 22 new homes in Walton built to blend in with the neighbourhood, to an energy-efficient design and available for rent and shared-ownership. This is the kind of new housing that will help us ensure young couples and key workers can live locally – which is important for sustaining a vibrant community.

(Dom opens Wardur Court with Wendy Pridmore of the Rosemary Simmons Memorial Housing Association)

Planning and Local Democracy

Planning is a red hot local issue in Elmbridge, a borough which is 57% greenbelt. I have regularly posted comment on the need to protect the greenbelt, but also address the lack of affordable housing locally.

The South East plan imposed top-down targets of nearly 6,000 new housing units in Elmbridge. The newly elected government scrapped that strait-jacket target, and left councils to set their own policy in consultation with local communities. Elmbridge borough council is now actively seeking local views on a draft plan. The consultation lasts until 4 October, so I urge everyone with a view on this key issue to click here , to feed in your opinion direct to the council via their website and/or write to your local borough councillor.

Planning policy is a vital local issue. The new government has strengthened local democratic control in this area. So, this is the time and opportunity to have your say!

Getting on the Housing Ladder in Elmbridge

The new government has taken decisive steps to preserve our greenbelt and open spaces from concrete – scrapping the South East Plan and announcing plans to put communities (not Whitehall) in charge of planning policy. But there remains considerable demand for affordable housing in Elmbridge – households on the local authority register for social housing rose by 22% between 2002 and 2008. So, what is the government’s plan?

The government proposes to expand shared ownership schemes for social tenants. It is reviewing the scope to give local authorities a greater share of the tax revenue raised from the sale of new homes – to incentivise the provision of affordable housing where appropriate. And, it is looking at scrapping stamp duty for first time buyers – an idea I strongly favour.

Today, I visited some of the existing and new social housing – being managed and delivered locally by Elmbridge Housing Trust – including at St Johns Wood, Thames Mead, Nelson House and Colnwell House. Demand remains high for rented and shared ownership – particularly amongst ‘key workers’ and first time buyers.

There is a tension between preventing urban sprawl and providing affordable housing – all the more reason to strengthen local democracy so that communities, not quangos and bureaucrats, get decide how to strike the right balance for them.

(Inspecting the Solar Panels on the new homes at Nelson House with Scott Baxendale from Elmbridge Housing Trust)