Tonight’s scrutiny meeting on the District Council was meant to kickstart the process of updating the District Plan which determines new housing and other planning policies yet turned into farce when the Conservative leader referred back his own council’s proposals.  The Chairman got totally confused on the voting and the meeting was closed without any substantive debate (cue this Conservative councillor’s head in hands)!  Bemused Liberal Democrat councillors were pleased to get their own proposal on ensuring the Council used this delay constructively by conducting proper scrutiny of the proposals. 

The real issue is how much new housing is needed and is it what local people need, too many expensive “executive houses” and not enough affordable starter homes for single people and couples.  The government too often dictates what is required without taking account of local needs and favouring the housing developers who coincidentally or not make large donations to the Conservative Party.

Liberal Democrats had earlier proposed their own amendment to temporarily put the plan on hold so were happy to support this having already highlighted the huge number of new houses required in the plan, over and above those currently approved (including an additional 1,400 houses west of Jane Murray Way).   An additional Liberal Democrat amendment asking for a working party to ensure proper scrutiny of the proposals was also agreed as it important that any delay is used constructively to review the proposals.