If you oppose the scale of housing development being forced upon our area, don’t just sign a petition against the Council - petition the Government that set the target. Our petition is addressed directly to the UK Government, calling for North East Lincolnshire’s housing target to be reduced. That is where the pressure needs to be applied.

As Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, I am asking residents to stand with the Councillors and demand that Whitehall gives our communities and locally elected representatives greater control over where and how we build.

CONTEXT:

North East Lincolnshire is currently expected to plan for 622 new homes every year. This requirement comes from Government housing policy - not from your locally elected councillors.

Local democracy is being undermined

The Government’s housing targets can restrict the choices available to elected councillors when making planning decisions.

If a council cannot demonstrate enough land to meet its Government-imposed requirement, developers can bring forward speculative applications and appeal refusals. National planning rules can then make it harder for councils to refuse developments, even where local councillors and residents strongly object.

Equally, trying to meet the target can mean identifying sites for development that local communities would rather protect.

Local councillors should decide what is right for North East Lincolnshire - not be forced to work backwards from a number set in Whitehall.

We should build in the right places

We need new homes, but development must be proportionate and sustainable. We should prioritise suitable brownfield land, regeneration and bringing empty homes back into use before looking towards greenfield sites.

Yet brownfield development can be more expensive, while bringing empty homes back into use does not simply reduce the Government’s housing requirement.

This creates pressure to develop greenfield land simply to meet a target we did not set.

With proposals such as Freshney Valley and the proposed 1,500-home development at Weelsby Park, the consequences are very real.

If you oppose the scale or location of housing development in North East Lincolnshire, please join me in calling on the Government to reduce North East Lincolnshire’s housing target, recognise our local circumstances and give local communities greater control over local planning.

622 homes a year should not be imposed on North East Lincolnshire from Whitehall.

Our green spaces should not be sacrificed to meet a national target.

Give local communities - and the councillors they elect - greater control over local planning.

Allow empty homes brought back into use to count towards the target

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