Nine out of ten residents are opposed to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s (SCDC) plans to build over 57,000 new houses and flats in South Cambridgeshire, according to a survey by Anthony Browne, MP for South Cambridgeshire.
Anthony asked residents if they supported SCDC’s plans to build nearly twice as many houses as the Government thinks are needed for the area. Of the 712 respondents to Anthony’s online survey, 89.75 per cent were against the proposals, with just over 10 per cent in favour. Many also thought housebuilding is currently high or too high (75 per cent), while just 8.5 per cent believed it was low or too low.
When asked their opinion on various policy areas, 83 per cent thought planning policy should seek to protect the greenbelt. An equal number believed that South Cambridgeshire’s infrastructure could not cope with more housebuilding. Over 55 per cent of respondents did not agree with the statement that South Cambridgeshire has all the facilities it needs for the local area.
In a stunning rebuke of SCDC, over 93 per cent of all respondents did not feel their views on housebuilding were being listened to by the local authority.
Commenting, Anthony said: “Even this small sample would seem to confirm that 57,000 houses are as unwelcome as they are infeasible.
All these houses will need water and produce sewage, and the District Council is pushing ahead even though they know there is not enough water for them and that it will lead to greater sewage discharges into our precious chalk streams. The Lib Dem authorities can issue all the press releases they like about how green they are, but they will be judged by their deeds not their words: their bulldozers will decimate our natural environment and eat into our greenbelt, as they concrete over the rural landscape of South Cambs. This plan goes against their own commitments to protect our environment, as well disregarding both government advice and the views of their residents.
I’ve heard South Cambridgeshire’s call for strategic, targeted housebuilding that puts the emphasis on affordable homes for new local homeowners. Those leading the District Council need to listen to that voice and put their unworkable plans on hold.”
