The housing crisis goes from bad to worse. In London today there was a rally organised by Homes for Britain to campaign to get housing up the priority list for politicians in the forthcoming General Election.
Where I live in North Essex, many people agree we desperately need more affordable homes. Home ownership is fast becoming a luxury and market rents keep on increasing. The problem is that nobody wants the housing where they live. It’s more than just a NIMBY (“Not in my backyard”) thing. Towns like Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow are already taking huge housing developments, and the politicians have singularly failed to explain how the infrastructure needed for these is to be provided.
At a recent Public Inquiry, the Planning Inspector threw out the Draft Local Plan and told the Council to start again!
Rather than building so much onto existing towns and villages that they collapse under the load, perhaps we should consider a high quality, well designed, new settlement. If so, where should it go? The obvious locations are along the M11 motorway and the railway. Several possibilities, but it needs to be resolved soon if we are to plan effectively for the future.