Green belt housing?: NO WAY!
James Berry, prospective Conservative candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, has issued the following statement to the local media:
The Lib Dems appear to be claiming that the Conservatives want to build 70,000 homes on greenbelt land in Chessington.
· That accusation is false. It is absolute nonsense.
o No Conservative Councillor or candidate in Kingston has supported any such proposal.
o I have not supported such a proposal
o And the Mayor does not support such a proposal either.
· The proposal came from a report by a think tank which was not produced by or endorsed by the Conservatives.
· It’s right that we need more housing – especially housing that hardworking people can afford.
· But Kingston Conservatives will not support housing being built on greenfield sites. I’m personally dead against building on greenfield sites.
· So as you can see, there is not one scintilla of Conservative support from Kingston Conservatives for mass building on greenfield sites in Chessington and it is misleading to suggest otherwise.
· I’m sure that the Kingston Conservative housing lead and the Mayor’s office will confirm this. When they do, I hope our side of the story will get just as much coverage as you have given the blatant Lib Dem smear.
Whose plan for 70,000 houses?
You may have received an email from Mr. Davey alleging that there’s a Tory-backed plan to build 70,000 new houses – ‘a whole new Borough’- in Chessington. Not only did i receive this but I also had a leaflet pushed through my letter box and I see that the Comet is carrying a version of the story on its website.
Not surprisingly I made enquiries into the truth or otherwise of this scare, the results of which I share with you here.
The Deputy Mayor for Housing and Land, Richard Blakeway attended the launch of a London First report, Home Truths, as part of a panel of experts. The contents of the report were not produced by the GLA, nor endorsed by them. One of the recommendations in the report regards Chessington, however this was not highlighted to the Deputy Mayor, nor did he comment on it.
In contrast, as Mayor Boris Johnson has ensured that measures protecting the green belt are a key part of all his housing and planning strategies. In Kingston, and across the outer boroughs, he strengthened the protections of green spaces and enabled boroughs to introduce a presumption against development on gardens through the London Plan.
The truth is often less dramatic than the propaganda put out by frightened politicians. We saw plenty of this kind of thing from the same source in 2010 – a point recently acknowledged by Mr. Falchikov. Please note that, apart from your vote, what they really want is your email address which you will give them by signing their petition. They will then be able to send you much more of the same.
Where do I stand on this?
Knowing Chessington and its green belt well I just wonder where anywhere near that number of new homes would fit. There’s already massive building going on in the ‘Epsom Cluster’ which is clogging Malden Rushett, Chessington and Hook with traffic and 70,000 homes would be, as Mr. Davey says, ‘a whole new Borough’. In any case, if anyone were to propose anything so outlandish as this, I should oppose them, irrespective of party.
The Chancellor on the Budget
Dear Paul
This week I have set out my Budget for building a resilient economy.
It is part of our long-term economic plan – a plan that is delivering economic security for families up and down the country.
We have come a long way. The independent forecasts show growth is up, jobs are up, and the deficit is down. But the job is far from done. I haven’t shied away from telling the British people about the difficult decisions we face. And just because things are getting better now, I haven’t shied away from it today either.
The deficit is down by a third, and in the coming year it will be down by a half. But it is still one of the highest in the world – so we are taking action to bring the deficit down further.
Investment and exports are up. But we’ve got twenty years of catching up to do – so I have backed businesses who invest and export.
Manufacturing halved under Labour, with all bets on the City of London. But manufacturing is growing again, and jobs are being created across the country – and we’re doing everything we can to support that.
And while as a nation we’re getting on top of our debts, for many decades Britain has borrowed too much and saved too little. So today, I have made sure hardworking people keep more of what they earn – and of what they save. Support for savers is at the centre of this Budget.
With the help of the British people we’re turning the economy around. Our goal is economic security for the families of Britain – and today, with this Budget, we take another step towards it.
Thanks,
George Osborne
TESCO SITE FOR HOUSING?
I have heard today that the ‘Toby Jug’ site in Tolworth, so long blighted by Tesco’s controversial plans to build a superstore there, will not now house a store but that it will be given over instead for housing.
Earlier plans for the site, which incorporates the last major former government office site in the south of the Borough, included plans for up to 170 units (from memory) of affordable housing. Kingston now has a waiting list for such housing some 7,500 strong. Although this site will not solve this problem on its own, it will go some way to helping.
I have fond memories of the whole area as an opportunity site when we were drawing up the UDP some 12 or so years ago. Everything has been on hold for far too long pending the resolution of the superstore question. Let us hope that imaginations can now be engaged in regenerating that whole area of Tolworth west of the A240 and incorporating both sides of the station.
Broadway still a problem
Nearly 80% of people taking part in the online poll on Tolworth Greenway still think it will be more likely than not to reduce safety in the area. Angela D’Ercole wrote recently that they’d be re-erecting the central barrier within 12 months. I doubt it really, though the designers seem to have ignored the fact that the barrier was put there for a very good reason in the first place, as the consequences of its removal have clearly demonstrated.
The latest accident involved a young mum and small child – and a car, naturally.
Whoever gets elected in May, I hope they will take this risk to life and limb seriously. I don’t see this as a party issue. I see it as a matter of common sense!
Accident on A3 at Hook
from the Surrey Comet website:
A man has been taken to hospital after a crash involving a motorbike and a car on the A3. Severe traffic queues remain on the A3 towards Esher Common
Surbiton Forum 