That people object to council plans for selfish and uninformed reasons

[Bamboozle123]

I live in a village which has doubled in size over the last 5 years (still pretty small tbh).

It is well located, 5 miles from a major town and has potentially good public transport links but with really low service levels (hourly trains, no buses on a Sunday sort of thing). There are few amenities here - no petrol garage, supermarket, pub, cafe but does have a few corner shops and a primary school. Loads and loads of countryside and good walking.

The council plans to create loads more houses along the main road here, probably doubling the village in size again.

I'm really surprised that so many locals are objecting for what seem to be really weak reasons - e.g. don't support compulsory purchase of farmland, the village is "already too big".

Perhaps they are just going through the change curve but I don't see how they can't see the benefits in improving the amenities and services, providing more affordable housing in an area that desperately needs it, whilst still retaining almost all the countryside.

So AIBU to think they are being blinkered / selfish and actually this is a scheme for the greater good whilst also benefitting us residents.

Agree. If net migration continues to grow we cannot support it.

It's not that we don't want to. We are a tiny country. We are facing these problems because of the size of the population in part. It has to be part of the fix.

For the majority yes. But developers and land bankers don't want to carry the additional costs.

It isn't an either/or situation. Nobody is suggesting that no greenfield sites will be used. But the current race to fill the fields around small rural communities is very short sited.

The population has to reduce. We are kidding ourselves if we think it can go on growing.

Birth rates are already below replacement levels which is good.

Now we need tight controls on management fees so people are not so reluctant to live in small blocks of flats.

A ban on building on farmland. Conversion of existing offices into homes, reduction in parking spaces since fewer people drive to offices or shopping centres. It can be done, but it needs a pragmatic intelligent government working for U.K. Inc rather than their own personal wealth.

Labour have historically been hopeless understanding the needs of agriculture, so let's hope they've wised up a bit and Putin has taught them to think strategically.

CPRE are also claiming there is.

^This - proponents of massive immigration seem to forget that we all need somewhere to live and also that everyone ages.

MintJulia · Today 09:26
The population has to reduce. We are kidding ourselves if we think it can go on growing.

Birth rates are already below replacement levels which is good.“

No it isn’t. We need a large influx of it, young working people to keep the country’s finances afloat.

Whose going to provide care/pay for an alarmingly aging population otherwise?

The population has to reduce. We are kidding ourselves if we think it can go on growing.

Birth rates are already below replacement levels which is good.

Not if you don't want more immigration it isn't. You can't have it both ways.

I don't think some people realise the kind of social upheaval that will be caused by rapidly declining birth rates and the instability that will follow.

We can watch what happens in China @FourTeaFallOut

Yeah, and Italy's fertility rate is down to 1.2. Not seeing many reports suggesting this is something to celebrate there, demographic crisis pops up a lot though.

I appreciate they want to make money but developer "mis-selling" is rife in my area and I feel sorry for the new owners.

The GP surgery was full before the houses were built as was the dentist and neither are accepting new patients.

The local hotel/eatery on the edge of the estate is actually a homeless hostel (has been for years) not the posh wine bar they were led to believe.

The promised Primary is not going ahead and there is a big fenced off eyesore in the estate where it was meant to be. There is no space at local nurseries or in the existing Primary school's breakfast or after-school clubs.

Instead of being taught in brand new classrooms, their kids are being taught in portacabins.

Totally agree

I suppose the locals already own their homes and don't want their house values to rise more slowly if new houses are being built to meet demand. Council's would only grant planning permission where housing developments meet local planning policies. If there are concerns from locals such as traffic, amenities etc, they would normally grant planning permission subject to conditions to make the proposal more acceptable and would most likely tax the developer through CIL or section 106 agreements. This is like a tax to pay for local services like provision of new roads, schools or street improvements. Not all objections from the public are valid. Objections based on the fear of new developments affecting property values is not one of them.

I hate to echo Truss, but we really have to up the UK's productivity. We don't really need endless streams of unskilled economic migrants if we could ensure every school leaver graduated with solid skills and a work ethic, instead of thinking they are going to be Premier League strikers or Insta-celebs. Whatever happened to being good at fixing things, whether it's heat pumps or nails. The transformation from gas boilers to heatpump technology the government is pushing right now is all well and good, but the spokesman for the industry reckons it is 78,000 experienced engineers short of delivering the goal by 2035. They are not going to arrive on small rubber boats, doncha know.

You can't make people take jobs they don't want.
Even if you train them, they won't take the jobs you choose for them.
They aren't declining that work because they only want to be elite footballers.

Except those aces where the Area Plan is yet to be delivered.

And what you have described, making certain provisos, is precisely what never actually gets built. Oh, yes, leisure areas and a new health centre... Reality is a small fenced if playground with 2 swingsets. Section 106 is often a developer's joke.