Ribble Valley MP calls for housing development restraint

ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans is calling on members of the borough council’s planning committee to look critically at applications coming before them for new housing.

Conservative Mr Evans said: “The Government clearly wants to see localism having an important impact on raising the power of local councillors to more effectively represent their residents.

“It is quite clear there has been a huge increase in building throughout the Ribble Valley, and developers are blatantly attempting to expedite applications before the full strategic review is completed by the local authority.

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“Some of these applications, if allowed, would totally change the character of the villages and towns under threat.

“The opinions of local people have been made quite clear to me, and these must be paramount in the minds of those making the final decisions.

“Even where officers of the local authority may recommend approval, I believe the final decisions rest with councillors who know their areas well and understand the limits on infrastructure, such as capacities in their local schools and traffic flows on their roads.

“I urge local councillors to reject those housing applications which fall foul of these wider concerns.

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“Our villages and towns must not be destroyed by developers’ enthusiasm to build wherever they see green fields – these are the lungs through which our communities breathe.

“Once they are gone, they are gone forever and I believe that we have a moral duty to future generations to preserve what is great about the Ribble Valley.”