MARTIN CLASHES WITH MINISTER OVER REGIONAL PLANS

2.00.00pm GMT Tue 22nd Jan 2008

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has clashed with housing minister Yvette Cooper in a Commons debate over the South West Regional Spatial Strategy which is now likely to impose more than 50 thousand new houses in Gloucestershire over the next 20 years. Martin finally walked out of the debate in Parliament's second chamber, Westminster Hall, after being told by the minister that she couldn't answer detailed questions on the Regional Spatial Strategy.

Commenting Martin said:

"I will probably have to apologise to Yvette Cooper for storming out but it is intensely frustrating. I made my first submission to this wretched process three years ago before I was even elected as an MP. I made a thirteen page submission last year and I've endured literally days of consultation sessions but it never seems to make a blind bit of difference.

"There has been near total agreement amongst local community and elected representatives that Cheltenham doesn't want or need huge urban extensions on top of the 8,000 houses in the urban area that we've already agreed to. Only developers and planners seem to be supporting it. Yet unelected officials and panels keep on producing these documents with ever-increasing housing numbers and now the minister won't even answer questions about it in Parliament. "

The latest report, more than 300 pages long from the 'independent panel' that conducted an 'examination in public' last year, suggests that another 7,800 houses be added to the totals for Gloucestershire, bringing the total for 2006-2026 to 56,400. It also rejects Green Belt status for the open green land at Leckhampton, says that Cheltenham is 'under-performing' economically and endorses the proposed Gloucester Parkway railway station (although it does say that it should be subject to an impact assessment on Cheltenham and Gloucester stations). Cheltenham urban area's total is proposed to be reduced from 8,400 houses to 8,100 but Tewkesbury's total rises massively by 10,500 to 14,600 spelling bad news for areas on the fringe of Cheltenham that fall within Tewkesbury Borough.

Commenting further, Martin said:

"Who elected these people that they can play God with the future of our town? Who elected them that they have the right to tell us where we should build houses, or where we should put railway stations or how well our economy is performing? Why should we put their priorities for unrestrained growth over our own quality of life? If we want to resist urban sprawl, protect valued green spaces and aim for a prosperity that is environmentally sustainable, we should have the right to do so."