Political opinion with Kieran Mullan MP: We need the infrastructure before more houses

The scale and pace of development being proposed across Bexhill, Battle and our surrounding villages is deeply concerning.

Local people understand we need more homes. They want their children and grandchildren to have the chance to live nearby. But they also want sensible development, in the right places, with the infrastructure needed to support it.

That is a perfectly reasonable expectation. Yet too often, residents are being asked to accept more housing without proper answers about how the services will cope.

We already experience water outages and shortages with the population we have now. Yet we are being told to accommodate thousands more homes.

Where will the water come from? Where is the additional sewage capacity? Where are the roads, GPs, public transport links, schools and other services required to support these developments?

Water companies face significant challenges. While they are consulted on Local Plans and planning applications, they have no statutory power to object and are expected to provide the infrastructure needed to support new development.

These are questions that should be answered before major developments go ahead. People should not have to move into a new home and then wait years for the infrastructure they were promised.

Currently, Rother is expected to deliver 15,504 new homes by 2042 equating to 912 homes every year for the next 17 years. Meanwhile, Wealden’s annual target is set to rise from 1,200 to over 1,450 homes per year. Both councils have made clear that these figures are unrealistic and undeliverable under current conditions.

Labour has upped our housebuilding target by hundreds at the same time as lowering it for the big cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham. That makes no sense and seems to me to be an attempt to make life easier for their Labour Mayor's and more difficult for us.

For example, residents in Bexhill already see the strain on the local roads. The A259 through Little Common is frequently congested, reflecting the cumulative effect of recent developments across the town and surrounding areas.

The cumulative impact matters. Several developments may all depend on the same roads, GP surgeries and water network. Looking at each application individually does not answer whether local services can cope with the combined demand.

I do not believe the housing target is realistic without the investment needed to support it.

At the same time, much of our countryside lies within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Those protections must mean something when decisions are made about how much development our area can reasonably accommodate.

I have consistently argued that housing targets must properly reflect those constraints, and that more large-scale development should be directed towards towns and cities with the capacity to support it, rather than placing even greater pressure on agricultural land and rural communities.

That is why I am backing the 'Halt the Houses' campaign alongside other MPs from across Kent and Sussex. We are calling on the Government to halt major housing developments until it is clear what infrastructure will be delivered, who will pay for it and when it will be provided.

If you agree, please sign our Halt the Houses petition at www.haltthehouses.com and encourage friends and neighbours to add their names.

We need homes. But not at any cost. Housebuilding should wait.