Taunton Deane Development

EDM number 893 in 2009-10, proposed by Jeremy Browne on 23/02/2010.
Categorised under the topic of Housing.

That this House opposes the targets for new housing building being imposed on Taunton Deane by central Government; regards them as unrealistic in the current economic climate; further regards them as undesirable due to their adverse impact on rural Somerset, including the green wedges that bring the countryside into central Taunton; believes that excessive development will put undue pressure on road networks and key local public services; regrets the invidious position that councillors from all political parties are put in by being legally forced to identify land for development even when they have legitimate concerns about its suitability; emphatically recognises the need for practical levels of new development, especially of affordable housing, but wishes this growth to be organic rather than based on top-down targets and sensitive to the requirements of Taunton Deane as identified by the people who live in and represent the area; and urges cross-party agreement to suspend imposed national and regional development targets and replace them with a sustainable model of house building which is proportionate in scale, fosters natural communities and respects the attractions of the countryside.

This motion has been signed by a total of 6 MPs.