To be sick to the back teeth of NIMBYism

[KnotNora]

I live in a village which is ruled with an iron village by a core of villagers who seem intent on sending us back to the dark ages.

This all started with a planning application for a housing development on a disused field. There was a very loud and vocal group who organised the no campaign and managed to get the application turned down three times (it's now gone to a final appeal).

Following on to this they are using the group to seemingly campaign against any development whatsoever. In the last year they have campaigned against single houses, a development of 6 houses, a planning application to change the use of a garage/cart house to a granny annex and now they are campaigning against an application for a single house on a crappy piece of land used by teenagers to drink on a weekend.

The main person writes a letter and then hands them out at the village hall and to all the old folks, gets them to sign it and then posts them off himself. He acts as proxy for online objections. Most of the reasons are scaremongering about losing our village, if we let them win once we'll be overrun etc.

He's just been round with another campaign to stop the demolishment of a house in the village which is owned by a train company. He wants the village to purchase it and turn it into a museum. It's a bog standard house with seemingly no amenity value at all.

AIBU to be sick and tired of a group of NIMBYs who don't seem to understand that people need houses to live in! It doesn't help that they make up the parish council which objects to any and all planning in the village. They shouldn't be allowed to scaremonger amongst the older members of the community like this.

The problem is that not all places are equal - our village currently has planning applications in for over a 1000 houses on green field sites and because our LPA hasn't managed to sort out their plan in time it looks like a significant percentage will be passed under 'sustainable development' as they cannot afford the appeal process (LA is broke) - fine if it was actually sustainable but there are already no school places left and kids have to be driven to other areas for places, the drs is over capacity, the village roads are congested and dangerous and due to the layout of the village cannot be expanded, the sewage system is overloaded and regularly fails pouring raw sewage down the roads and into houses, and there are plenty of older houses for sale at reasonable prices (3 bed terrace about £70k)
The proposed new houses are all luxury with a smattering of affordable (as designated by gov as under £250k - which is expensive round here) and advertised as premium developments.
It's not so much NIMBYism as an opposition to crazy planning policies driven by central government but not appropriate to our area.
We were actively supporting a small development of elderly housing and live-to- work units but the changes to HAs meant that that one was pulled due to funding concerns.

There is a group near me who are demanding a copy of the demographic model used to calculate housing numbers, they have mounted an online campaign against the sub contracted demographer. They can have the model if they pay for it, but they won't.

It's amounted to a bullying campaign on social media, the leader of whom has moved from Londin to his grandmother's ex council house.
All wealthy baby boomers complaining about their views being spoilt and pretending that it's concern about road infrastructure or schools.

Quite right too. In our area, a business consortium has apparently estimated our housing needs. They are unelected and their methodology is not clear.

How come they get to decide?

None of the houses built in our village are affordable. Not a single one. They are in infill or brownfield sites so I have no problems with them and the new owners seem nice and will be an asset to the village.

But not a single one costs anything less than the best part of half a million.

Yes the concerns seem to be schools (the school has mixed classes already as its so small), developers were wiling to give money to the school, traffic and preserving the community feel.

In reality it is all about their views, the lane they walk their dogs on and a fear of outsiders. They talk about community but I don't see them in the village pub, the village hall is empty most of the week and losing money. There are simply no young families here. When a house does come up for sale (usually a probate house) it's sold to BTL. We've ended up with an aging village and transient families who would lice to live here but end up moving after a few years as they can't afford to buy in the village.

They are so small minded in their views, where do they expect their children and grandchildren to live?

We all have to share the burden of new housing. Protesting against any development whatsoever is ridiculous.

Coercing letters out of older people by scaremongering is outrageous!

They are highly skilled demographers who have no vested interest and have trained for years . That's how. They don't 'decide', they give the figures and it's up to the local councils.

Unfortunately, Bob the accountant thinks he knows better and wants to keep his nice view.

In our area they are a business consortium and bodies such as the CPRE have concerns.

Local authorities should make the methodology public.

I think you know my FIL! That's just the sort of thing he'd do. He opposes everything, even his neighbours' (both sides) extensions but his was ok. I've said to him a million and one times that it's ok for him because he's got his house, bit thousands and thousands haven't.

He, also, does that voluntary speed thing. He loves catching people, when it's pointed out to him he speeds, he says "but I don't speed in my village!"

Fairy yes that sounds like him!

He also does the speeding thing and walks around the village picking litter. Very noble indeed, until the day he knocked on my door to tell me I had crisp packets in my hedge and it looked messy

Everything he posts on FB is 'another small victory for our little village'

It does sound like Nibyism where you are but that doesn't mean it applies everywhere. Our village is already quite big and supports many village businesses (we have 4 thriving pubs) already the problem is the only infrastructure improvements being proposed is money for school places but there is no room for the school to expand (bounded by railway & existing development), there is no money in the local authority to fund things (massive cut backs) and developer contributions have been massively eroded under changes to planning law so it looks like we'll get loads of new houses but not the infrastructure to support it.

The methodology is public, anyone can buy a model and run the figures through. The group near me are demanding a commercially sensitive program for free. They can buy an off the shelf one which will produce the same results.
They want the demographers personal one.

surprising - where do you live that planning applications for new houses get refused? In most places they go through regardless of objection, and up go the huge 4-beds all close together on the flood plain. No extra schools, no extra doctors, no extra shops.

It's perfectly acceptable to submit letters of 'support' for planning applications, too, OP. If you feel strongly enough, then counteract his actions with campaigns of your own - canvass opinion and put your own views forward, speak at Parish Council meetings about your support (the public have 15 mins forum at the beginning of each meeting).
If you involve yourself in the community, you might find you and Mr NIMBY have shared goals as well as conflicting ones and he'd be a great ally to have on your side

I'm not telling you where I live or the NIMBYs will come get me!

I shouldn't imagine it would be too hard to find if you googled enough.

quite a few get refused. A very wealthy village near me clubbed together to pay for a QC to fight their cause, only for 8 homes but they got refused.

Screenshot is of a different one obvs.

I live near a vilage like this, OP. It's 'I'm alright, Jack'.

This all started with a planning application for a housing development on a disused field. There was a very loud and vocal group who organised the no campaign and managed to get the application turned down three times (it's now gone to a final appeal).

Actually this worked really well for us and the place I live.

The estate we are on was refused planning 3 times. It was eventually passed on the third attempt as the local council could not afford to defend it again (which in itself is another issue). The result though, was the developers were made to make a lot of concessions to the plans and to make sure that the properties were not squashed in as much as possible. There are several green spaces and the layout is a mix of houses of all sizes including social housing. There is plenty of allocation for parking and although there are a lot of houses, for the most part you aren't being starred at by the neighbours through the window.

The other local estates built at a similar time but were not opposed are awful. They suffer from all the problems above. None are built with any first time buyers in mind despite local shortages and demand for smaller houses. Starting prices are £400,000 which is ridiculous.

So I am really glad that someone opposed our estate. I think there is real value to opposing things that are inappriopriate and I do think 90% of new building would benefit from just a little bit more consideration and thought so they are more sympathetic to the local area and local needs.

yes the plans have been changes considerably.

It started at 160 homes, it's now 120. Moved access from a lane to a different road. Offered money for infrastructure.

All wealthy baby boomers complaining about their views being spoilt and pretending that it's concern about road infrastructure or schools.

Hear, hear!

OP perhaps we live in the same village?! It's a pretty place but the average age here has got to be above 65 and the average house price has got to be half a million. None of the young people who grow up in these sorts of villages can afford to stay where their roots lie when they want to move out. They all end up gravitating to the large towns and cities in private rentals. What is the future for these places? The sense of community is only held on by a thread by those who are very aged now and have lived here for years and years - and they shun any influx of 'outsiders'. Who is going to be left living here?

Last year a survey was sent out to the residents by the council canvassing opinion on a development of ''affordable housing'' on the outskirts of the village. I ticked ''strongly agree'' to all of it! Totally in favor of some fresh blood and strongly in favor of some affordable houses going up nearby (we rent - would never be able to afford to buy this house).

A 'we don't want this' meeting was held in the church hall. Worries about increased traffic and no.s of children joining the village school were bandied about at first but there was a barely disguised undertone that the main objection was centered around the word 'affordable' and the sort of people this would inevitably attract to the village Disgusting attitude. NIMBY indeed.

I am surprised they are so successful. In my small highly traffic congested town the planners have said OK to more than 5,000 new houses on various greenfield sites. Just being against things doesn't cut much ice with the planners - there are valid grounds for objection, and they don't include "we don't like/want this".

Hundreds of people wrote to point out issues of flooding and road congestion around here but the planners weren't in the least bit interested.

As for "affordable" housing - the developers usually manage to get that reduced or removed from the plans as soon as building starts.

dotdotdotmustdash That's a subset of NIMBY known as NODAM - No Development After Mine.

And watch out for SOBBY who supports infrastructure projects in Some Other Bugger's Back Yard.

And BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.

Take planning out of local hands. That's the only way to fix them.

Well, to answer another poster, how many people want a traveller's site next to where they live? I certainly wouldn't.

YANBU - I recently received a flyer asking me to join our local neighbourhood groups which describes its role as "opposing planning applications". If they had said 'responding to planning applications' that'd be one thing but it is the out-and-out assumption that development is bad and must be stopped.

Ah well this is a case of BANANA then, I think they would oppose a shed being built if they could.

They don't win all the time. One of the plans was for a change of use from a cart house to treatment room (owner was a beautician). Their main objection was that she should be made to rent one of the empty shops instead of converting her cart house. Oh and that traffic would increase by 'up to 4-6 cars a day'. They lost. Lots of fury on their FB site that the owner wasn't very community minded....