Dr Kieran Mullan, MP for Bexhill and Battle, voiced serious concerns in Parliament on September 12 regarding the potential impact of centrally imposed housing targets on the constituency - which contains large swathes of the protected High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).
Kieran questioned the Minister for Nature on what say they had on the targets being imposed when they were drawn up by the Housing Department. The Minister didn’t seem to know the answer, agreeing to write to Dr Mullan.
The question was the following: "In Bexhill and Battle we get to enjoy the amazing High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. But it's expansive, covering more than 1400 square kilometres. What specific advice did his department give to the housing department when it comes to taking things like that into account? When we have centrally imposed housing targets putting pressure on the area as a whole?”
Watch his intervention below:
Dr Mullan commented after:
“Something has to give. We will either see house building in protected spaces or completely unrealistic targets for the non-protected parts of our rural communities. They have to review their formula to take into account parts of the country with large areas of protected land. They have lowered the targets for big cities like London because they are saying they aren’t realistic. These new targets aren’t realistic for our area."
His question follows the unveiling of new planning rules by Angela Rayner MP in July, which requires Rother District Council to almost triple the number of homes being built each year. With 83% of the land in the area designated as AONB, Dr Mullan argues that these targets are unrealistic and risks developers running wild when they aren’t met.
