Introducing Grant Shapps MP, Harriett Baldwin said, "When I first saw the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy and heard about Gordon Brown's plans to build 3,000,000 homes in Britain by 2020, I remembered being a student of Russian. I visited the Soviet Union and saw a failed command economy. There must be a better way to plan housing than this government's top-down, Stalinist approach which imposes unwanted development on the green fields of Worcestershire. I am delighted that Grant Shapps MP is able to join us today to explain that there is a better way and it is the Conservative approach to housing policy".
Grant Shapps MP outlined the problems with the government's approach. He explained how a Conservative government would abolish the top down imposition of housing numbers by scrapping unelected regional assemblies and their unwanted Regional Spatial Strategy. He said, "Of course we need to build more homes in Worcestershire, but a Conservative government would work with local councils to choose how many are needed and would trust local people to work with developers to decide where these homes go and even what they look like.
'To incentivise local communities we will allow local authorities to keep more of the proceeds of the extra council tax and ensure that the economic benefits of new housing will stay in the community to pay for additional infrastructure. Community Land Trusts would encourage parishes and villages to build affordable homes for their local community."
Serena Croad, Leader of Malvern Hills District Council handled a range of questions about the current consultation from residents of Newland, Malvern Link, Madresfield, Guarlford and Kempsey. She said, "It is true that the number of houses allocated to South Worcestershire has been decided by Whitehall. There is nothing we can do about that today. But we really want as many responses as possible from local people about this planning document, because we can influence where the homes are built. The South Worcestershire Joint Core Strategy was written by our planners and we now need to hear from residents."
Cllr David Watkins said, "This is a local consultation that the council has been obliged to conduct on the basis of housing forecasts handed down by central government.
'My first priority is to is to ensure that as many local residents as possible respond to the consultation.
'I don't trust the government's forecasts. It should be for the council to assess local housing need and then consult about where to build. Remember that a large number of houses are already being built on the North site in Malvern.
'I want a future Conservative government to scrap the spatial strategy and put inits place a proper local planning mechanism.'
Photo: Left to R, Cllr David Watkins, Grant Shapps MP, Harriett Baldwin and Sir Michael Spicer MP