LETTER: Overwhelmed and overcrowded

Some excellent letters in the County Times illustrate the anger and frustration felt by many of us regarding the development vandalism that continues to envelop the Horsham district.
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The massacre of Broadbridge Heath and west of Horsham,the closing of the Horsham Crawley gap, the destruction of the environment, the poisoning of fields with weed killer and the tree cutting as a precursor to yet more housing and road building to produce, not so-called ‘affordable’ housing for first time local buyers but ‘luxury’ three and four bed dwellings.

Who profits? Landowners and large builders. Who suffers? Us, the ordinary people of the district who are to be overwhelmed and even more overcrowded.

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Billingshurst and Southwater have already had large developments and more, yes, more are on the way.

One of Cameron’s election pledges was ‘Localism’. The implication being that local people would be able to decide what went on in their area.

What has happened? A top down housing strategy has been imposed by central government with the threat that if the local councils do not comply then it would be enforced by an unelected inspector.

Our councillors throw up their hands and with a mixture of secrecy and arrogance pay lip service to the localism principle claiming the dubious benefits of growth, with total disregard to the degradation of our quality of life and our environment.

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Our local MP ducks and weaves when he has to,but basically keeps low on this issue which is THE issue facing this area.

No wonder there is such disillusionment with politics. They really do not get it.

We need a new way of achieving local democracy. We need new parties and a new system. The Tories in this area and the Socialists in others have had their day and it seems that the Liberal Democrats just are floundering on their way to oblivion.

So much for our green and pleasant land.

BARRY LAFLIN

Woodfield, Southwater

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