LETTER: Planning question is overlooked

I attended Berkeley Strategic’s Vision for West of Southwater by invitation on Friday, 28 February. We were encouraged to study their development plan for some 650 houses. Lots of good stuff for the young and younger generations. However, one important planning question seems to have been overlooked.

How much weight is given to projecting forward or may a developer be allowed to ignore the very obvious and ongoing ageing issues in the UK in general, and in the South East in particular? Which, of course, is one of two major reasons for all this ‘unexpected’ housing demand; ie, single dwellings and living longer.

I raise this because probably both but certainly living longer should be built into house/development planning. Surely, it has to be an intrinsic part of individual house building specifications today. In which case, not only for the retirement homes, there needs to be a planning and implementation process now for old and to be old folk over the life of a neighbourhood.

Some of those distances on the Berkeley maps are clearly ignoring this or rather taking it for granted that the house owners/renters/ housing benefit recipients have at least one car!

Given the socio-economic scenario we are in, this reliance on a car, sadly, cannot be relied upon. The bus will become increasingly important as people cannot afford cars and are not up to medium/long distance walking to live any quality of life at all.

Hopefully, Berkeley will consider the transport infrastructure that will include us all.

RICHARD DUNCAN

Worthing Road, Horsham