Britons living along the frontline of Labour’s “war on rural England” have vowed to protect the precious Green Belt from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.
Sir Keir Starmer and his Deputy Prime Minister unveiled a complete overhaul of planning rules last week, with the proposals emerging as part of plans to build 1.5 million homes.
The new rules will also look to combat the “broken” planning systems so that Nimbys cannot block new developments.
As Labour settles into Government, Britons have started to brace for impact as the Cabinet begins to install ambitious local targets – with a target to build 370,000 homes across England every year.
Labour announced its latest plan to overhaul local planning rules last week
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Following the announcement last week, Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said that Labour was attempting to “bulldoze through the concerns of local communities” and claimed that Labour was waging “war on rural England”.
The newest planning policy framework will aim to use disused sites as central priority locations for new buildings.
Local councils will need to identify lower quality “grey belt” land out of current green belt areas to be used for these new homes.
Local residents from the Cornish town of Bodmin are already opposing plans to build 540 new houses on Halgavor Moor, which is a floodplain on the outskirts of the town.
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Cornwall councillor Jenny Cruse told MailOnline: “Angela Rayner is mad if she thinks this will work, she hasn’t got a clue. What they are proposing isn’t democratic, it doesn’t align with our local plan.
‘I can’t believe how worried and stressed people are about this, we are being totally disregarded.”
She added: “’People really care about our area but I don’t think Angela Rayner even knows where Cornwall is.”
“This is a Marxist plot and I can’t believe we have sleepwalked into this. It’s not about being a Nimby, it’s that everything they are doing is flying in the face of democracy.”
Locals have echoed the councillor’s frustration, fearing that Labour’s new targets will override objections and push through unwanted rulings.
Locals have echoed their councillor’s frustration, fearing that Labour’s new targets will override objections and push through unwanted rulings (Stock)
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Jeff Kirk, who is a retired police officer, also said: “I’m not happy with the target. It’s just a disgrace.
“Certainly we need new homes but there is always a right place and a wrong place to put them.
“It’s not as if Bodmin isn’t building new homes. It is. But roads around here are already gridlocked and people can’t get appointments to see their doctor.
“I don’t think the local health services or the police are capable of dealing with that many more people.”
The latest fight to defend green belt land has followed reports that the UK does not have enough construction workers to build the extra houses.
However, the Government has confirmed that, while there is a “dire shortage”, it is “taking steps to rectify” the issue.
