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John Jory, chief executive of Mid Sussex District Council, and Claire Tester, head of planning (From The Argus)
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John Jory, chief executive of Mid Sussex District Council, and Claire Tester, head of planning
10:46am Thursday 16th October 2008
Readers will be able to quiz Mid Sussex District Council about the South East Plan in this week’s Friday Inquisition.
John Jory, chief executive of Mid Sussex District Council, and Claire Tester, head of planning, will visit The Argus office to answer questions about how the plan will affect people living in the Mid Sussex area.
In a letter to staff, John Jory reacted angrily to a target outlining that the authority must build 18,000 homes in the South East Plan.
He said: “This is a ludicrous sum and one that I do not support. Should our objections not be properly considered then, if necessary, we will be taking the Secretary of State to court. Mid Sussex is an area of beauty to be cherished, not destroyed.”
In Mid Sussex, the original recommendation of 15,000 homes has been pushed up by 3,000 – a rise of 20%. After public consultation, a final revision of the regional strategy will be published.
You can put your questions to John Jory and Claire Tester between 12.30pm and 1.30pm by filling in the form at theargus.co.uk/fridayinquisition.
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Your Say YourArgus
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
12:45pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Jennifer
1. Our existing infrastructure is stretched, (schools, roads, sewage, water supply and primary care health). Simply building 18,000 new homes will makes things worse.
2. The adverse impact on our beautiful countryside, towns and villages.
3. The Government’s proposed numbers are not justified and are way above what we need.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
12:51pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Lewis Hamylton
We agree. Our economy is in a very difficult position at the moment and we don’t know how long the recession will last, so few houses will be built. The economy will eventually recover and then house builders will start to provide the homes. Land values are falling and so house builders will only want to provide the homes and not the schools, roads and health facilities needed for the new residents.
We don’t see any money coming from the Government to help us provide new homes or infrastructure.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
12:57pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Just wondering, if you don't believe these houses should be built in your 'back yard', so to speak, then where should they go? England is full of beautiful places, so what makes your patch any more defensible than, say, the Norfolk Broads or Dartmoor.
I appreciate that's fairly flippant, but the point still stands: we need homes and people have to live somewhere...
Thanks
PJ
We know we need more homes in Mid Sussex. We think the number of homes provided should meet local need. We don’t think the number should be set arbitrarily by central government.
About two-thirds of Mid Sussex is designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the South Downs is about to be designated as a national park. Our countryside is recognised as being of a higher quality than many other places in the country.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
12:59pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Skunky
We don’t know. This is one of the reasons why we are objecting so strongly to the latest minimum numbers. We want the Secretary of State to rethink the numbers and reduce them. If she doesn’t we’ll consider taking legal action.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:05pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Giriraj
We think central government is trying to impose unreasonably high minimum housing levels. We have every right to use our judicial system to hold the Secretary of State to account.
We know there are other councils and bodies who share our concerns and are thinking about taking legal action. We believe we are acting in the best interests of our residents and are reflecting their huge concerns.
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:11pm Fri 17 Oct 08
John Clare
Yes. We have published a draft strategy seeking to show how our communities might change over the next 20 years in terms of housing provision, employment, retail development and infrastructure needs, such as new roads and new schools. This plan shows how 15,000 homes could be provided. A copy of that strategy is available on our website (midsussex.gov.uk). We are in the process of attempting to revise the strategy to accommodate central government’s latest minimum housing requirements.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:16pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Ian Hunt
No. We understand central government is determined to impose minimum housing targets irrespective of local need or the number of homes actually built. This is a blunt instrument. Central government should introduce ways of helping key workers and first-time buyers to purchase homes more easily; that would be a much more effective solution than setting housing targets.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:23pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Andrew
We think we should be providing housing for local needs, such as your children and grandchildren. House prices will go up irrespective of how many new homes are built. The current economic downturn does mean few homes will be built until the economy recovers. We want to develop a 20 year strategy to ensure our towns and villages change in a sustainable way where people can live near their work. Central government’s housing target of 18,000 homes may lead to lots more people living in Mid Sussex and commuting long distances to work.
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:28pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Ruth
We want to create job opportunities for people to work near where they live. We have embarked on three major town centre projects which will lead to lots of new jobs being created through £600 million of new investment. In our plans we will also identify other areas for businesses to open and expand. We don’t want to simply provide homes without jobs.
JJ and CT
Emma Shotton, says...
1:49pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Mitch
Yes, absolutely. We don’t, though, believe developers can fund the necessary infrastructure. Central government funding is also needed. Also, we don’t believe house builders can actually build and sell over a thousand homes a year.
18,000 homes, with the necessary infrastructure, are still too many. That number of homes would damage our cherished and attractive countryside.
JJ and CT
Emma Shotton, says...
1:55pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Amy
We recognise there is a need for housing to be provided in Mid Sussex to meet local demand. Our issue is that the Government requirement for us to provide 18,000 homes is way too high. We think we should take a much lower number and focus on enhancing the qualities of our existing towns and villages.
JJ and CT
Emma Shotton, says...
1:56pm Fri 17 Oct 08
JJ and CT
Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
1:57pm Tue 21 Oct 08
Cheggers
The countryside in Mid Sussex is highly valued by residents in the towns and the villages, both for recreational purposes and for its wildlife habitat... Whilst some green fields will need to be lost if we are to take these ludicrously high housing numbers, we will also want to make best use of sites within towns and villages, which have good access to existing services and public transport. A mix of houses and flats will need to be provided to meet the needs (and pockets) of local people.
"The nationalisation of land is an interesting suggestion. I don't think central government has the appetite to do that. Even if it did, landowners would expect to be compensated on the basis of their land being used for residential purposes. I cannot envisage a situation where any Government would suggest landowners should only receive nominal sums for their land."
JJ and CT
Your sayYour Argus
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John Jory and Claire Tester
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Friday Inquisition, Brighton says...
12:34pm Fri 17 Oct 08
Lou
In all sorts of ways. There’ll be an increase in demand for existing services, like doctors and dentists. There’ll be much more pressure on key services like hospitals and schools. There’ll be lots of green fields lost to housing development. There’ll be lots more traffic on our roads.
JJ and CT