Planning

Planning is a key local issue. Planning remains a top concern for local people who have written to me. Over the past year I have assisted residents with planning applications in Corhampton, Droxford, Chilbolton Avenue and the Royal Observer Corps site. Developers continue to put in unacceptable applications and the pressure to meet Prescott’s targets grows. The Liberal Democrats nationally will reform VAT to encourage developers to repair and re-use empty buildings and brown field sites, rather than always building over the countryside. Locally the Lib Dem council have thrown out the application to build homes on Barton Farm. I am concerned by the Eagle Star bid to build a new town near Micheldever and intend to keep a very close eye on the situation.

I have supported local residents in their fight to keep the Chimney Pub site in Weeke and the Bugle Inn in Twyford for community use. I also visited residents in Liberty Road to discuss planning issues - in particular enforcement of planning rules.

I have recently made a submission to the planning white paper, suggesting that developers should have to enter into pre-application negotiations with the relevant local authority to improve the efficiency of the planning system and ensure that the views of local people are taken into account at an earlier stage.  At the moment, there are too many cases of local people being happy to accept some form of development on a site, but because they have no opportunity to communicate with developers at an early stage, the process becomes unecessarily hostile and unproductive.  I await the outcome of these recommendations with interest.