More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
An MP fears acres of valuable Kent farmland could be needlessly smothered with what he calls "ghettos" of new housing as the county becomes a "dumping ground for London".
North Thanet Conservative Sir Roger Gale is leading calls for developments planned for agricultural plots to be halted amid concerns the sites will be required to grow crops.
KMTV report on Sir Roger Gale's fears over building on farmland
He fears the proposed new homes will be occupied by people from outside the area who will not be able to find work due to a lack of jobs in the area.
The veteran parliamentarian asked Boris Johnson in Parliament on Wednesday to impose the immediate moratorium while the Government reviews its housing strategy.
He said: “The Prime Minister has pledged to protect the countryside.
“The countryside is more than just a little bit of greenbelt around the home counties.
“In Westgate, Birchington and Herne Bay – and indeed across much of the Garden of England – there are plans to smother acres of prime agricultural land in housing that is not needed for local people.
“But it is needed to grow and produce crops to reduce the amount of food that we import at a cost of carbon emissions.”
However, the Prime Minister bizarrely batted away Sir Roger’s suggestion, thinking he had asked for the construction of all housing to be put on hold.
Despite branding the proposal unrealistic, the Tory leader said he would “take very seriously the points” made.
But today, Sir Roger tells KentOnline that he found Mr Johnson’s response to be “unhelpful” as he “either chose not to hear the question or deliberately misconstrued it”.
“We need that land for farming and once it’s gone, we’ll never get it back,” he added.
“We’re told that we want to reduce carbon emissions and we want to become more sufficient in agricultural produce, but if we haven’t got the agricultural land, we can’t grow food.
“Many of my parliamentary colleagues in Kent share the same concerns.”
Sir Roger believes the county has an adequate supply of brownfield sites – as well as plots already earmarked for homes – that should be built on “before we touch a blade of green grass”.
He says the three developments totalling 1,350 homes at Hillborough in Herne Bay should be among those put on hold.
Meanwhile, he also thinks that many of the sites earmarked in Thanet District Council's local plan - which sets a target of 17,000 new homes to be built between 2011 and 2031 - will go to Londoners.
“I accept entirely we have overcrowding in Thanet and people need homes to live in – that’s a given," he continued.
“We don’t need 17,000 new homes to become a dumping ground for the problems in London, and that’s effectively what will happen.
“What will happen is there will be a ghetto with a lot of people who are from outside the area living there with no jobs because at the moment there’s no employment in the area. I cannot see the point of that.”
Sir Roger says he has sent a letter to Downing Street setting out his position “in fairly blunt terms”.
“The Prime Minister’s got to decide whether he’s the developer’s friend or the environment’s friend,” he added.
“At the moment, it looks as though he’s the developer’s.”
