Downs Watchdog Criticises Regional Masterplan
Green pressure group, the South Downs Society, has today (27 October) given a mixed welcome to government’s proposed changes to the South East Plan which will guide development across the region till 2026.
While the Society has welcomed any references to protecting the Downs, it has complained that the Plan should focus on improving, not just conserving, our finest landscapes and is particularly unhappy about the ambitious, increased housebuilding targets for the area, and all the associated infrastructure such as roads.
“In the south east we are blessed with some exceptional countryside” says Society Planning Officer Steve Ankers, “ but the Plan doesn’t appear to recognise that the high quality of the environment must be safeguarded if we are to remain prosperous. We also must ensure that any new development is conditional on there being an adequate water supply, and we have stressed that small rural towns may not always be able to meet local housing demand because of the constraints of the landscape and the built environment.”
The Society has also pointed out in its response that the Plan does not provide adequate protection to all parts of the proposed South Downs National Park during the run-up to the government’s anticipated announcement on the Park, and has objected to the inclusion of the former Shoreham cement works as a large-scale development site.