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Banbury’s MP welcomes planning reforms
31/07/2024
Sean Woodcock says Labour was elected on a commitment to get Britain building
Banbury’s MP has backed the government’s planning policy overhaul, which was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner yesterday.
Sean Woodcock says Labour was elected on a commitment to get Britain building – and that’s how they’ll grow our economy, fix and fund public services, and deliver on the priorities for people in Banbury.
Last December the Conservative Government scrapped mandatory housing targets. Year-on-year, construction of new homes was down nearly 40 percent in the first three months of this year.
Labour say the updated National Planning Policy Framework sets out a more strategic approach, prioritising poor-quality grey-belt land for building and introducing “golden rules” to ensure development works for local people and nature.
Sean Woodcock said: “Labour was elected on a commitment to get Britain building. That’s how we’ll grow our economy, fix and fund our public services, and deliver on the priorities for people here in Banbury.
“The work to turn the tide on Tory failure and put an end to the housing crisis we’ve inherited has begun. It will mean delivering infrastructure and public services alongside new homes to unlock economic opportunities.”
He added: “Instead of taking tough choices, the Tories simply ran away. This Labour government isn’t afraid of making hard decisions in the national interest to power growth in every part of the country. We were elected on a mandate to build the homes Britain needs and take the tough choices to unblock the planning system and make it a reality.
“When it comes to housebuilding, we will no longer be asking ‘if’ but ‘how’. Let it never be forgotten that it was the last government’s haphazard approach to building on the green belt that has seen so many of the wrong homes built in the wrong places, without the local services people need.
“To be clear, this government is committed to preserving the green belt. But we need to move away from this broken system. That’s why we’re committed to taking a more strategic approach, prioritising poor quality grey-belt land for building and introducing ‘golden rules’ to ensure those developments ensure affordable homes, public services and green spaces.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam