On Thursday in Parliament Richard spoke about CPRE Bedfordshire's (The countryside charity's) protest walks through Bedfordshire Countryside on Sunday 13 February in conjunction with local parishes across Bedfordshire and BFARE, to highlight the pressure that excessive development is having on our natural environment, and asked the Leader of the House about the Government's progress on its Infrastructure First initiatives and planning targets.
Richard Fuller MP said:
I welcome this initiative by CPRE to highlight the pressures on our countryside from too rapid housing development, which is particularly felt in my constituency, growing at five times the national average; threatening the rural character of much of our county and putting pressure on local services like GPs and school places.
I have lobbied successfully to have the “one million houses” target of the Ox Cam Arc project formally dropped and to have the Government conduct a review on the pressure of housing growth locally on schools and GPs.
On Thursday I asked the Leader of the House what progress the government has had on our Infrastructure First initiatives and also on our planning targets.
Richard added:
I have also worked with local Parishes to voice their concerns at the process that resulted in a routing for East West Rail that will create a brutal scarring of North Bedfordshire and will open up demands for more housing in villages already finding it hard to cope and I will continue to work in lock step with Parish Councils and local authority councillors of all parties to oppose large scale developments that do not fit the criteria set out in neighbourhood plans.
Richard's question can be watched here.
If you are interested in joining one of the CPRE walks on Sunday 13th February, please visit their website here for more information.
