This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Cherwell Labour leader says council must build the homes the community needs
16/12/2024
Council Lib Dem leader fears developers will take advantage to the detriment of local wishes
In the wake of the government’s planning reform announcement last week the Leader of Labour at Cherwell District Council has demanded that the council deliver the homes families in Cherwell need.
But the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Council has warned that a consequence of the change could be that local people could lose control of where houses are built.
Labour want to build one and a half million homes during the lifetime of this parliament and are working to change the planning rules to make this happen.
The Leader of Labour at Cherwell is Councillor Amanda Watkins. She has demanded that the council deliver the homes families in the district need.
Councillor Watkins said: “There can be no excuses, no places to hide – Cherwell District Council must now build the homes this community needs to provide local families with something we all deserve – the safety, security and comfort of their own home.
“Quite simply, we have not been building enough high quality affordable homes in this country and families in Cherwell are paying the price.
“[Labour’s] planning reforms will make a big difference. Across the country it will mean more quick decisions – with democratic oversight, and ensuring we protect the natural environment – to get spades in the ground, homes completed and lives transformed. But Cherwell District council has got to play its part too.
“The Labour government inherited a housing crisis – but change has begun and we will get Britain building. Today’s announcement means greater certainty, clarity and consistency in our planning system – and it ensures development will come with the infrastructure residents and businesses need. But most of all it means more families in Cherwell should be able to secure their own home.”
But David Hingley, who’s the Liberal Democrat Leader of Cherwell District Council, is concerned that Labour have missed a chance to amend land supply rules and warns the changes could see developers riding roughshod over locally agreed plans.
Councillor Hingley said: “We are proud to be developing a sustainable vision for housing delivery in north Oxfordshire that meets the needs of local residents and that provides the housing the district needs, including much-needed affordable housing, and are about to launch a public consultation on a new Local Plan. However, while we acknowledge the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, we’re disappointed, along with other councils, that they’ve missed the chance to strengthen the plan-led system that’s working well in Cherwell.
“Between 2015 and 2024, 11,039 new homes have already been provided in Cherwell and there are 6,791 homes with planning permission but which are yet to be built. Last week, the Council’s Executive approved a proposed new Local Plan for consultation to ensure the housing needs we face can be met to 2042 and beyond in a sensible manner. Our proposed Local Plan, which we have prepared and consulted upon over a number of years, meets the government’s transitional arrangements for working under the new National Planning Policy Framework while crucially taking account of the views of residents who want to see sustainable levels of housing come forward in the district. We will commence our consultation shortly and welcome all comments.
“However, we note that the Government has missed an opportunity to fundamentally reform the five-year land supply rules, which tilt the balance of decision-making in favour of developers when housing market conditions and site delivery are more difficult. Applying the government’s new housing figures will place more pressure on us in determining planning applications for housing. Unfortunately, the protection from those rules for authorities with up-to-date Local Plans has been removed.
“It is sadly inevitable that a consequence of Thursday’s announcements will be that developers seek more land to be released outside of the plan-led system regardless of the positive steps we are taking. We would urge the government to reconsider this, but we will nevertheless do our utmost to make sure the right planning decisions are made for the future of Cherwell and all of us who live here.”
Speaking to Banbury FM ahead of the General Election Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to reassure those who were concerned Labours plans would result in building over our local countryside.
He said: “The countryside round here is absolutely beautiful and nobody wants to build all over the countryside.
“We need to make sensible decisions with communities, not to communities, about the provision of housing and infrastructure.
“For young people the average age now for owning your own home is 35/36. That’s intolerable for young people who just want the dream of home ownership and the security of their own roof over their head.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam