To feel really upset about the lack of scrutiny on new housing development in the countryside

If people are homeless and desperate for homes then this is one answer though otherwise where does the building stop? Things can be changed/amended but use what is already there. If I was in temp accommodation I would absolutely take a permanent home offer

not houses crammed in together

we need the housing to be higher density - more flats. It is the only sustainable way.

All the town developments near us have sold really well! First flat buyers often don't want to live in the countryside miles from anywhere.

Dd has just bought her first flat in the middle of a city, no way would ahe have wanted a country cottage! She can walk everywhere, its great.

So it has been mentioned a few times that abandoned shops and offices should be utilised first as housing before building elsewhere. So hands up, how many of you want to sell up from your pretty villages and quiet areas to live in a converted high street in the middle of a town or city, or is it only ok for OTHER people to live in these places never designed for habitation, no gardens, straight off a high street. So is this attitude not a NIMBY way of thinking? redevelopment so people have to live in undesirable locations and in undesirable ways. But as long as it’s away from us it’s ok, THEY won’t mind living there, as long as we don’t have to have our lives changed. To be fair, I don’t particularly like a lot of the new build estate designs, but a lot offer help to buy schemes for young families to own their own place with a bit of garden in a nice area, something they might never be able to do before. But it’s greedy developers building them! Well yeah, has anything ever changed, they have always done that!

Pre war loads of the suburbs were built, with shops, pubs, doctors etc, the garden cities like Welwyn and later new towns like Milton Keynes. Amenities were needed because there were none, most people didn’t drive and didn’t leave their towns, went to the butchers, bakers and general store every day, we lived differently. The tacking on of new developments next to little villages can be done now, as we live differently to back then, many many more people drive now, to huge retail parks and supermarkets, we need more housing, places have to grow, which is fine I guess, as long as it doesn’t effect any of us by the sounds of most here. Just so you know, it’s happening where I live, my street was quiet, it’s now busy and we are arguing with the developers to get traffic calming measures put in, as they promised in their proposal, it’s hopeless it seems, but that’s life in a ever growing country, with an ever increasing population!

I agree with you. We are having similar problems where I live. It’s gotten to the point where we simply can’t keep on eating up countryside and farmland for housing, especially as there are so many empty buildings that could be refurbished or repurposed. But it’s all about money, not building homes fit for people to actually live in. It’s much cheaper to build loads of flimsy redbrick boxes on greenfield sites than renovate existing properties. The government could help allay that by removing VAT on property renovations, or charging VAT on new builds, to reduce the gap a little, but I don’t suppose they will. None of it will help to solve the housing shortage because the real issue isn’t supply, it’s affordability. The notion is, I suppose, that if they increase the supply of housing stock enough then house prices will fall, but that’s been tried and they rarely fall by much. Even the property market crash in the 90s didn’t last long, prices soon rocketed again. But the government are simply doing what so many governments have done before, trying to build their way out of recession. It isn’t NIMBYism to think about the long term consequences of these reckless planning decisions instead of short term economic gains for HM Treasury.

Yes totally agree with climate emergency issue.. They are building on land here with deer and other wildlife.

Yet huge industrial sites are pretty much empty.

Fab 👌

The village of Rackenford, in Devon were told they had to build 5 new houses. They were quite happy to do this, there were young families in the village who needed those homes, but they didn't want one of the big mass house builders just plonking new homes in a field.

By working together they ended up building 12 new homes, all within the village boundary.

The power of the people!

I hate this. This has happened near us. Earmarked for 8 'starter homes' which everyone was happy with. Eventually got 4 x 5 bedroom 4 bathroom homes that won't sell. Twats

What we are seeing is the blatant abuse of small plots in villages. These are spaces in small towns and villages which have been earmarked for housing development. This is a brilliant initiative intended to provide affordable homes for the young people who were born in the village.

The rule is that if you build 6 homes or over a certain percentage has to be designated affordable. Unfortunately small local developers cannot afford to develop these spaces, so the big names move in, build 5 homes to avoid having to build any affordable units.

So instead of the village being able to home it's own young people they end up with 5 executive homes no one can afford, and the land for the homes they need has gone.

@Youmeanyouvelostyourkey it doesn’t make sense does it? I thought we were in a climate emergency? Surely we need as much green space and wooded areas as possible for soaking up all of the excess rain we are going to get and to stop every where just being an oven from being over developed concrete jungles? Colour me sceptical

I agree .

They are building a new garden town of 6000 near me and the objections are all routed in the lack of infrastructure, all the schools doctor road change layouts all suspended due to funding , houses still going ahead

@Pickingmyselfup well put. Totally agree. The flooding where we are has got worse and worse as the building continues up hill from here and the water has no where to go apart from downhill. Local planning has allowed the overflow ponds to have been filled in too so more flooding as water has nowhere to go.

Then in summer, we immediately get warnings of low water supplies, high increase in population but no new reservoirs etc.

Back in the 50s/ 60s my village and the next one had loads of council housing. Houses, bungalows, gardens, green spaces. All beautifully kept. My childhood friend from school was 1 of 11 children and their council house was 2 houses knocked together. I loved going there as it seemed huge to me. Everyone had their washing lines on grassy spaces around the houses and all had little gardens. Of course they are all privately owned now.

@Youmeanyouvelostyourkey in all the shit flats and development around us only one of has been done well. But it was private land sold by a huge business to developer and it's really nice. Loads of greenery, trees, all the houses have differences in appearance and detail, space, play areas. But I guess it was expensive.

Fair enough. There's plenty of proud Nimbys near me, retired and with nothing else to do. They are brilliant at it tbf 😆

People need houses so somewhere along the line more need to be built. Fine.

My issues with this are...

Lack of infrastructure-so many houses have gone up local to me but it's already hard enough to get a doctors appointment, no NHS dentist and the main primary school is pretty much full. Not to mention the increase in cars causing bottlenecks at peak times.

The price-they are outrageously expensive and there is a huge lack of affordable ones. Even the affordable ones aren't affordable, we need more council houses.

Building on flood plains...I live in an area which is surrounded by them but new houses are being built on or close to the floodplains. All of the water is now being pushed elsewhere causing way more flooding and causing issues for businesses.

The size of them-I looked at a 3 bed new build but it was ridiculously tiny. The living space would have been suitable for a couple, a family would have no chance of squeezing into the tiny lounge. Bedrooms so small you can't fit a single bed in there and open the door fully, let alone any other furniture. Stop cramming them all in and make them more use able. Also sort out the quality, paper thin walls, mud pit gardens and shoddy plumbing. I know it's not all of them but some companies are renowned for being shoddy, it shouldn't be allowed.

Use empty buildings as well as building new houses, they can't all be unavailable. It's probably more expensive but better for everyone in the long run.

They must have had huge backhanders from the building companies or else none of this absolute nonsense makes any sense at all.

@Collexifon maybe but folks like me, I'm not a main instigator or organiser against local development but I did support, went on a few protest marches, wrote to mp and local paper and donated some money.
My steam has gone. I'm not going to waste more time and energy fighting a non negotiating juggernaut steam rollering everywhere.

Also I thought the government wanted people out of cars and onto public transport

No joined up thinking

Net zero???

Nonsense

No way! It's the hill a lot of people are willing to die on

Most "nimbys" aren't against development if it's done well. Like others, I live in a very small village, 1 bus twice a day at impractical times. No shop, or school or drs etc. lots of lorry traffic though trying to get to other places. Schools here are all over subscribed as surrounding towns and villages are growing at a fast rate. Our village has grow by 15% in past 5 years. No additional schools or services in any of them.

So if we got proper infrastructure along with the houses, maybe people wouldn't be so anti. Some kids round here have to travel over an hour to get to school. There is no public transport to get to the drs. The bus routes just don't exist

Clearly there are areas who need the new houses in order to keep schools going but not around here. So rather than blanket changes, maybe the focus should be properly targeted.

Labour are in for a big shock when they realise that NIMBYs aren't the problem after all - it's good old fashioned greed

Absolutely! How can they not realise this? Just as clueless as the last lot!

Unfortunately I think the steam will run out of the local groups who band together to try snd stop the developments.

It's open season.

Yes

We can be controlled by food shortages and it's nit good to have to import everything