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

Yes no thought about environment yet we are being told we have to be net zero by 2040

It's not adding up

I can't see how these houses are going to go to people who are really in need. They've just built a development near us, 80 homes. They start at 500k up to 1.1 million.

Buy to let.

BTL people?

England is one of the world's most densely populated countries.

TBH I think it’s the BTL people that have brought this about. Blame them.

Everyone needs an home. I imagine there were Tudor, Stuart, Queen Anne, Victorian, Georgian nimbys too. Those houses are listed now. Very much of Britain is not built on.

How will thousands of new houses help people who don't currently have anywhere to live? Won't they all be expensive?

If there was more supply then the prices should come down. It doesn't work like that. Houses are built and released at a rate which maintains the price.

It's not just NIMBYs holding up development. They are just a convenient scapegoat.

In my experience it's rare for local opposition to stop housebuilding. A success is when you can get the plans changed to something a bit less damaging.

I’ve always said it’s the biggest Ponzi scheme too!

Town councillor here - Town councils don't submit planning applications. They come from developers who have purchased land. Town councils are usually only consultees which means they can submit local knowledge and objections/requests to the planning officer but ultimately the decision lies with a planning officer at the main council. If the officer disagrees with a town council it can be sent to a committee which is heard in public who can then make a decision.

I too share some concerns about the new rules but like previous posters have said we have a desperate shortage of good quality, affordable housing. Engage with the planning process submit comment and go to the meetings

Also we have old sewers that cannot cope with the poo we have!
They're not being replaced…then we have flooding! Yes let’s build and concrete over more fields so we can have more of these issues! 😡

One of the main objections for the 3000 houses they want to build in our area is the increase in traffic. The council solution to this is that they will provide a bus route. But actually, if they redesigned the plans to build in very good cycle routes for electric bikes into the heart of the city then they'd have a shot at a car-less development but they won't bother.

I've given up wasting my time objecting to planning applications for huge new housing estates. Houses are going up like bloody mushrooms around here, on high quality farmland in a dry area of the country that will only get drier. We need to think about about population size, food security, and how much immigration we want and need.

Otherwise we're just part of a Ponzi scheme.

Agree….it will end up looking like some dystopian nightmare. I’m thinking we will all end up living in a place like the film Dredd.
I think all of this overcrowding is a disaster for mental health. I’ve lived in cities and the stress I felt was awful. I had to move to an area that is quiet and green…if they keep building there will be no escape for anyone.

@CaliforniaChill s106 and CIL go back decades
work with them, not against them

The problem is they build all these houses but don't upgrade the infrastructure or build shops, doctors, schools, bus routes etc. We've had 3 new estates but no new doctors or dentists, no road upgrades.

Same here. Moved here 9 years ago, and was told then there were no school places for DC9. Had to go private initially. Now our town is listed as a lovely place to live, people are moving here, then write letters to the paper saying their DC are in 3 different schools as no places.

Get an NDP
Get a good consultant
set sane rules
you'll get good housing

Affordable is 80% of market rent
Social is 40% of market rent
They are not the same

The problem is they build all these houses but don't upgrade the infrastructure or build shops, doctors, schools, bus routes etc. We've had 3 new estates but no new doctors or dentists, no road upgrades.

Before covid, getting through my town from 7.30-9.30 was awful, traffic at a standstill, getting off my new build estate and on to the motorway at the end of the road would take 20 minutes, and once on it would crawl up to the next junction. All it takes is for a car to breakdown or an accident and the whole town grinds to a halt.

I'm on the waiting list for a steroid injection, I'm in tears sometimes. The first time took 4 months to get one by which time my problem was even more severe. The doctors can't cope with the extra patients from all these extra homes.

Another problem is they aren't affordable to the majority of the current residents. I live in the commuter belt, the towns younger generations are being pushed out of their home town to make way for out of towners from London moving to be nearer the countryside. I see it all the time on local Facebook pages.

And then there's all the wildlife that we make homeless by building on all the fields.

Nimby is a good thing surely?

People who are pleased about the nimbies getting their comeuppance are really just supporting the big developers who are laughing all the way to the bank. I find it really odd that people on the left show so little support for communities and so much for big house builders.

Development should enhance communities. If it was well-designed people would ask for it. They would see that yes there are downsides, but overall this will be a positive thing for my community. If people aren’t seeing that, the developers are getting something wrong.

My town council have recently asked a social housing developer to propose a small development on council land. It is well-designed, not too big, connecting to decent infrastructure and will be 100% affordable. Not everyone is in favour of course but there have been very few objections. It was something the community wanted and asked for.

Affordable housing, and housing that has to be lived in - I.e. not bought as a second home. And be sensitive to the areas. Where I am, each village could take a (smaller) number of new builds with out changing character etc. much better than picking one village and tripling its size by doing one big development. Of course the residents will get narky!

But most importantly - build on brown field sites first. So many abandoned sites and old factories etc. use them first. And for goodness sake, don’t build on flood plains! It never ever works. It always has massive impacts somewhere along the river.

And it can’t be hard for the developer to pay a one off tax before being allowed to put one spade in the ground to pay for schools, doctors etc. They all promise it - and never pay it….

The developers should have to start with building the infrastructure and the social and affordable homes, apart from a couple of show homes. Councils should have the power to prevent building the really profitable stuff until this has been done to a good standard. that might not work is landscaping but at least other things like playgrounds etc can be put in.

But if net migration is running at over 500k plus it doesn't matter if we build 1.5 million homes there will never be enough ...its just bollocks .