Dorset MPs unite to fight homes plan (From Bournemouth Echo)

Dorset MPs unite to fight homes plan

11:30am Tuesday 11th November 2008 in Search By Echo Reporter

NEARLY all of Dorset’s MPs have signed a House of Commons paper calling on the government to scrap plans that could see 48,100 new homes built in south east Dorset by 2026.

Six MPs signed an early day motion urging Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to “abandon entirely” the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).

They were: Bob Walter of North Dorset, Robert Syms of Poole, Annette Brooke of Mid-Dorset and North Poole, Sir John Butterfill of Bournemouth West, Christopher Chope of Christchurch and Oliver Letwin of West Dorset.

The towns proposed by the housing blueprint are described in the motion as “soulless dormitories” with unsustainable levels of commuting, and would be built at the sacrifice of greenbelt land.

Infrastructure, public services, and transport networks needed to support the level of housing suggested by the RSS are “unsustainable”, according to the motion. Bob Walter said opposition to the strategy crossed the political divide and was an effective response to charges of “nimbyism”.

He said: “There is an ever-growing groundswell of opinion against the South West RSS and considerable resentment that such an important document has been imposed on all of us with little or no regard for local knowledge or expertise.”

Terry Stewart, the chairman of the Dorset branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, said he had contacted all of the county’s MPs in advance of the motion, urging them to sign.

“It’s extremely good news.

“This whole issue has been politically neutral. Annette Brooke and Tobias Ellwood presented a petition at the House of Commons on behalf of our campaign,” said Mr Stewart.