As this newspaper has previously reported, the Boundary Commission has proposed changes to parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex which would leave some communities facing material changes. Many towns and villages end up separated from those with which they share close geographic or community ties – Amberley and Houghton for example, or Pulborough and Fittleworth. Rural areas may be combined with coastal towns with different priorities on crime, planning, anti-social drivers or fast broadband. It is not too late to influence this. The Boundary Commission proposals were just the start and residents are now specifically invited to submit comments. Details of the changes and how to comment are on my website www.andrewgriffithmp.com.
Regular readers know that the one subject I have spoken on most oftet is planning and housing development – a subject that acutely impacts my constituency with proposals at Adversane, Ashington, Buck Barn, Barnham, Eastergate, Mayfield, Kirdford, Storrington and Westergate.
Last week in Parliament, I laid out my own ‘five-point plan’ on housing - one that would give the nation the homes it needs, while protecting the environment we love. First, we need to level up. Before the second world war, only a fifth of the population lived in the south of England outside of London, while twice as many lived in the north and Scotland. Now, equal numbers live in both. By piling on even more growth in the south-east, the housing formula locks the north and midlands into permanent economic disadvantage. That was something the Prime Minister talked about in his ‘Levelling Up’ speech last week. Second we need to turn planning consents into homes with a time-based levy (such as charging full Council Tax) between consent and completion in order to turn the current 1 million undeveloped planning consents into actual homes before we grant planning permission on a single extra green field. Third, we need a true brownfield first policy with a real distinction in the planning system to tilt the playing field brownfield. Fourth, we need our cities to grow up, not out. The UK has some of the lowest density urban areas in Europe, yet under the current Mayor of London the construction rates of tall buildings has more than halved. His failure of leadership is so significant – and the impact on areas like West Sussex so great - that I am afraid the moment is coming when the London Mayor will need to be stripped of any say on planning. Finally, we need a tax system that helps, not hinders, the problem. For example, a stamp duty break for downsizers, which will help free up the market in existing homes.
