2nd May 2018
Dear Madam,
As a former resident of Selsdon who still has an interest in the area, I am very concerned about the government’s forthcoming policy review that could change the shape of the English countryside forever, in particular Green Belt land, much of which makes up the area in and around Selsdon. My family used to own a pig and poultry smallholding in Selsdon Vale. Not long after we left, its Green Belt land was built upon in the 1960s and now forms part of the Selsdon Vale Estate. Sadly, it may be that history could potentially repeat itself if the current rules concerning rural building are relaxed.
The government is rewriting the National Planning Policy Framework – the rules that determine what kind of houses are built, where they go, and whether it is communities or developers who are at the heart of those decisions.
The outcome will have a huge impact on issues such as safeguarding protected landscapes, the provision of rural affordable housing and guaranteeing that local communities’ voices are heard on developments in their area.
The current proposals, however, merely continue the government’s failed approach to housing that has done nothing to help people afford homes. As it stands, people still won’t get the affordable homes they need, while more countryside will be lost unnecessarily - permanently.Although there is a need to solve the housing crisis and protect our countryside, this isn’t the way to do it.
There is only a week left to make a difference,so, if you are concerned, please email your MP todayasking them to ensure that changes made are good for communities and the countryside we love. This can be done via the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s website - https://www.cpre.org.uk/- just by completing the online form, which, at the press of a button, will automatically email it direct to your local MP.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Glover
Editor’s note– If you are interested to read more about Steve’s life in Selsdon Vale in the 50’s you can access his memoire via the History page on the FSW website http://www.friendsofselsdonwood.co.uk/history.php- scroll down the page to 1950s.