Who will save the garden of England?
Monday 15th July, 2002
Three men are planning an outrage near you. They are respected politicians and each will protest his good intention. But the outcome will be an overheated, overpopulated and unlovely South-East of England.
Today, Chancellor Gordon Brown launches an attack on the planning controls which have protected the countryside and the character of the region for the past 50 years. His Comprehensive Spending Review will provide millions for "affordable homes" to be built around London and call for new fast-track development zones to free up land in the region's "hot spots". Later in the week, John Prescott will announce changes to planning which may reduce local control over decisions.
The third partner in this unholy alliance, Mayor Ken Livingstone, is also implicated in this assault. His recent London Plan calls for a massive amount of building in London and the South-East.
The Chancellor will sound benevolent when he speaks today. He will describe the critical need for homes that people in the public sector can afford and the need to keep the economy growing. But if protection for the countryside is relaxed, millions of houses, as well as huge infrastructure projects, will be built on greenfield sites. This will change the countryside and towns of the South-East beyond recognition.