House building levels that see almost a thousand new homes forced on the borough each year are set to be scrapped by the new government, the Observer can reveal.
Under the previous Labour government 945 homes had to be built every 12 months but that is set to change under the new administration, according to members of the Tory-controlled borough council. There will no longer be a set figure that the local authority has to adhere to and this will give more power to the community, according to Cllr Rob Golding.
Cllr Golding, the borough’s cabinet member for planning and infrastructure told the Observer: “Essentially with a new government we can abandon the 945 homes a year that were imposed upon us by Labour. I am glad that we are now free from the shackles of this top-down approach – the target should now be dead.
“We need enough homes to meet the needs of local people, there will still be some national standards but not a specific number. We can now work with the communities to see what Basingstoke and Deane needs rather than a Government imposed target. We need to see the fine print but this will empower local communities.
“The scale and pace of development will be entirely dependent on infrastructure being in place. This is a critical area of consideration in being able to maintain the quality of life for our residents. We do need more homes as we are a growing and ambitious town but we are determined that the necessary infrastructure will be in place.”
But Basingstoke’s Labour leader Cllr Laura James has accused the Tory council of cramming the borough with unsuitable development. "The local Tories have been stacking up development in Basingstoke; they have built more flats than ever, they have allowed housing to go forward without investment in roads, community facilities and our schools. They are imposing development on communities top down from the council, and they are excusing bad development which will leave a terrible legacy in our town.
“Communities in Basingstoke are being forced to oppose development because the Tory Council are allowing cramming; they are not delivering what communities need in affordable housing or open space. The Tories have allowed thousands more houses to be built in the last four years well over and above the target.
“In years previous we built to the target, delivering more affordable homes than ever, but we didn’t allow this kind of free for all we see now. All this talk of localism is great, but what it really means is a few Tory councillors behind closed doors at the council will now decide our towns future, we believe it should be you and your neighbours working with the council that shape the future of Basingstoke – that’s true localism."
Cllr Golding concluded: “We have built above the housebuilding levels for the last three years but we have been playing catch up on the failures of the previous Labour and Lib Dem council when we did not built enough.”
