If planning is to be democratic the Government must listen, and respond to, the concerns of local people. This is the view of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] as the Government prepares to publish a plan setting out the future for the South West region shortly. An earlier draft of the plan attracted a record 35,000 responses. [2]

Georgie Bigg, CPRE Trustee and South West resident said:

‘Plans for each of the English regions are meant to set out levels of development that are achievable and will not cause environmental damage. However, it increasingly seems that the Government are using them to deliver massive numbers of new homes with little regard for the impact that development will have on the quality and character of the countryside.

‘In the case of the South West, more than 117,000 new homes are proposed for the Bristol and Bath area alone and over 33,000 of those are expected to be on Green Belt land. [3]’

‘The green spaces of the South West are important to those who live and work there, as well as being a big tourist attraction. They need to be protected from development. In the original draft plan the housing target for the region was around 23,000 new houses a year. The Government has most recently proposed to increase this to over 29,000 a year. They need to listen to the concerns of the people living and working in the region and rethink this unrealistic and unsustainable target.’

Georgie concluded:

‘CPRE agrees that the South West region needs new homes, especially affordable ones [4], but the current plan does not take the right approach. The Government must show they are listening to the people that will be affected by this plan and significantly scale-back house building levels.’
CPRE is working as part of a coalition in the South West to encourage people to write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to demand changes to the plan before it is finalised [5].

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2. Regional Plans, or Regional Spatial Strategies, set out frameworks for where, when and how development will take place in a region over the next 15 to 20 years. The plan for the South West region is due to be published towards the end of June.

The draft South West Plan was originally consulted on in June 2006 and examined by an independent panel between April and July 2007. Changes proposed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, were then consulted on in July 2008.

3. Further information about the number and dispersal of the proposed new dwellings around the Bristol and Bath area can be found in our media centre:
> Media Centre

4. CPRE launched 2026 – A Vision for the Countryside in May, setting out a positive and optimistic vision for the future of the beautiful English countryside in 2026, the charity’s centenary year. As well as calling for a ‘reinvigorated, democratic planning system’, the Vision’s key issues include: affordable, high quality housing; urban regeneration; Green Belts; better planning; green energy; local food and farming; quality of life; light pollution and valuing the countryside as a national asset. For further information go to
> Campaigns: 2026 – A Vision for the Countryside

5. CPRE is a member of the Save Our Green Spaces coalition (www.saveourgreenspaces.org). The group is calling on the public to write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, to make some key changes to the plan before it is published.