MARTIN RALLIES MPs AGAINST REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY (Cheltenham Liberal Democrats)

Cheltenham Liberal Democrats <info@cheltlibdems.org.uk>

MARTIN RALLIES MPs AGAINST REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY

October 25, 2008 4:45 PM

As the consultation deadline on the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) draws to a close, Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has rallied MPs from across the south west of England against the government-inspired plan which poses a direct threat to the countryside around Cheltenham. Martin has tabled an early day motion in Parliament today supported by eleven other Liberal Democrat MP from Bristol to Cornwall. And following discussions with Martin, parallel early day motions are being tabled by Stroud Labour MP David Drew and Weston-super-mare Tory MP John Penrose.

The motion tabled by Martin today says 'That this House has no confidence in a South West Regional Spatial Strategy that allows the prioritisation of greenfield over brownfield sites, that is based on outdated projections of both housing market and economic growth, that takes no account of purpose built accommodation for students, that does not recognise the environmental constraints on development and has in effect simply implemented national policies and ignored widespread local opposition from across the region and from all parties from parishes to parliament; further notes that honourable members have had no opportunity to debate specific details of the Strategy with ministers or in regional select committees and were denied speaking rights at the formal examination of the strategy in public; further notes the specific threat to long-established Green Belt surrounding Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Bath, Bournemouth and Poole; further notes that while ministers have repeatedly claimed that it is for local authorities to take the lead on the implementation of the Strategy, in practice they are powerless to stop developers already applying to develop greenfield sites and citing the site-specific maps in the Strategy in their defence; calls on the government to abandon the South West Regional Spatial Strategy or to urgently revise it to reflect democratically expressed local views, the environmental limits of development and the need to prioritise the development of brownfield sites before greenfield sites by reintroducing the sequential test.

John Penrose, Conservative MP for Weston-super-mare has tabled EDM 2257 which has so far attracted eight signatures. David Drew, Labour MP for Stroud is also expected to table his own early day motion shortly.

Both the Liberal Democrat and Tory motions call for the abandonment of the Regional Spatial Strategy although the Labour motion is expected to stop short of this demand.

Martin commented: 'I'm delighted to have such strong support from Liberal Democrat colleagues from as far afield as Poole on the south coast to the furthest tip of Cornwall. I'm equally pleased that John Penrose and David Drew are trying to whip up support in the other two parties too. There is clearly a lot of anger right across the region about the way this government-inspired policy is going to devastate our countryside and overwhelm many local roads and services and about how little control local people have been given over the process.'

'It was quite clear from a recent debate in the House of Commons that there is a lot of anger from every side and from every part of the region. Together with petitions which are being raised all over the region and what I hope will be thousands and thousands of individual objections, let's hope this concerted cross-party political action makes a difference. A clear majority of the region's Lib Dem MPs have signed up. If the Tories and Labour manage the same and we have a clear majority of the region's elected parliamentary representatives speaking out against this plan, the pressure will really build up on government to do something'.