The threat to our countryside posed by the Government’s Draft National Planning Policy Framework:

Contrary to current Government and Council policy, the answer to the national housing shortage is not to build on Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other greenfield sites.

Instead the answer to the national housing shortage, is for Government to address not only the supply of, but the demand for housing.

The supply of housing should be coming from brownfield, not greenfield sites. Supply could also be increased by incentivising the re-use of the 1 million currently empty houses in the UK (equivalent to 8 years of housebuilding).

The demand for house building has been massively increased by Labour’s immigration free for all, which let in 3 million immigrants in 13 years. This open door policy on immigration is being continued by the current Government.

We need to restore proper controls on immigration, to ease the demand for housing.

Furthermore, people should be given the right to call binding referenda on important local and national issues. Let the people decide on major planning schemes, like these unwanted housing developments in Burgess Hill, Ardingly, Cuckfield, Lindfield, Hurstpierpoint, Sayers Common, Ansty, Staplefield and elsewhere.

Chris French
Acting Chairman
UKIP Mid Sussex

http://tinyurl.com/62nweex