MP concerned new housing lacks critical infrastructure
An East Sussex MP has voiced concerns about how development quotas in his area fail to link to improvements in road, rail, education, health and other essential services.
James MacCleary, MP for the Lewes constituency, deplored what he referred to as 'name-calling' by ministers objecting to complaints about new housing figures.
Making his comments during the Budget speech, the MP noted that while the Chancellor promised growth in every postcode: "Those of us in the South East could be forgiven for thinking that the Government has forgotten us altogether." He said that taking London out of the equation, the area, and Sussex in particular, does not seem to be part of the Government's infrastructure strategy at all.
Ringmer was mentioned in terms of 1,600 homes proposed for a village that currently only has 2,000 households. He went on: "I have heard ministers refer to people in villages like Ringmer who are concerned about how their communities can possibly cope with new housing, as NIMBYS. That is unfair and grossly insulting. If we want housebuilding and growth, the Government needs to offer communities a fair deal, not call them names."
Mr MacCleary told the Commons: "Housing plans must be led by need. Too much housebuilding is just waved through and sometimes it is not even built at all. If the Chancellor wants to build Britain he needs to invest in roads, schools, health facilities and public transport to make the new houses and the communities in which they are built, truly sustainable, otherwise we are just building problems for the future.
"Building more houses without the necessary infrastructure is a road to nowhere. I am very clear about this: it is not reasonable or fair to ask residents in my community to just accept more and more housing, while they watch their roads clog up and their public services deteriorate and while they cannot get access to a GP."
He also cites Newhaven and the A259 where a traffic system 'designed in the 1970s' is now fundamentally failing coastal communities. And he urged for progress on a business case made by East Sussex County Council to fund an upgrade including safety improvements to junctions. "Will the Minister say whether the Government will commit the money necessary to get the A259 moving?"