Marcus Jones, the MP for Nuneaton, has expressed concern on the floor of the House of Commons over what he described as ‘planning by default’ in Nuneaton.
The town’s MP was prompted to speak-up by what he sees as an unnecessary delay by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s controlling Labour Group to consult and implement a local plan for the Borough.
The MP and former Borough Council leader, who in 2008/09 was not willing to commit the area to a local plan to comply with a target of up to 13,800 new houses that the previous Labour Government tried to impose on the area, believes that the Council is not using the powers given to them by the Coalition Government responsibly.
After the new Government scrapped the imposed target, the Council’s Cabinet controversially put in place a new target of 7,900 new houses in 2011, following which the Council have, in the MPs view, “failed” local residents by not providing a local plan to back up the Council’s own target. Marcus fears that local communities are now very much at risk of another ‘Weddington’ scenario.
After raising the issue in Parliament, the local MP said: “The Council were rightly allowed to tear up the imposed housing target of the last Government and put in place their own housing target in 2011 yet, despite numerous promises from the Council leader, after two and a half years there is still no sign of a local plan or any form of consultation for local people.
“We are now seeing large scale planning almost by default across Nuneaton, without any plan or vision for infrastructure to accommodate new homes. So we will get the worst of both worlds. On the one hand we will get development against the wishes of local people and on the other we will continue to suffer from an infrastructure that’s inadequate in so many ways.
“Over the summer I have met with groups across the town, they fear unwanted development. Local people are being let down by those who they elected to power to make local decisions. I now hear that the Council may not complete the local plan until 2014. This is completely unacceptable. They must act now and put forward a number of options for consultation immediately.”