Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, has again spoken in Parliament about the failure of Liberal Democrat-run Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council to implement an up-to-date Local Plan, and now compounded by the Labour Government’s imposed 59% increase to local housebuilding targets.
The MP raised the concerns of many across the area about increases to housebuilding without the required infrastructure, and the fact the Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, has imposed a housing formula that sees the numbers of houses required to be built in cities like Leicester fall by one third, while rural areas such as Hinckley and Bosworth see their requirement increase by almost two thirds. Dr Luke highlighted the fact that this seemed unfair when the transport connections and amenities are already in place in cities, while already stretched in rural communities, and this will only get worse with these changes.
The Labour Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP, responded that Local Plans are the “best way for communities to control development in their areas,” and said that he would work with Dr Evans to ensure Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council can secure an up-to-date Local Plan.
A Local Plan “provides the necessary protections for infrastructure in our communities, such as roads, GP surgeries and school places,” says Dr Evans.
Speaking for constituents in parts of North West Leicestershire – as villages such as Donisthorpe, Oakthorpe, Acresford, Chilcote and Appleby Magna became part of Dr Evans’ constituency at the General Election – the local MP also raised concerns around the 74% increase to housebuilding targets in this area.
Dr Evans later noted that communities in North West Leicestershire are better protected as the District Council has in place a Local Plan, which means that local people have the greatest control over where building takes place and that additional services are put in place at the same time to meet growing needs.
Since being elected in 2019, the GP-turned-MP has been campaigning for stronger protections for Neighbourhood Plans, which he says are the “next best way to protect villages” from overbuilding but are “ridden roughshod over” when areas such as Hinckley and Bosworth don’t have an up-to-date Local Plan in place. Dr Evans has been able to secure an increase to the statutory period at which a Neighbourhood Plan needs to be reviewed, from two years to five years.
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, said “Under the previous Government I successfully campaigned for the housebuilding algorithm to prioritise brown field sites and cities with infrastructure, such as Leicester, over green field sites which can be used for agricultural purposes.
“So I have been disappointed to see the Labour Government reverse this necessary change, with housebuilding in Hinckley and Bosworth set to increase by 59% and in North West Leicestershire by 74%, while targets for Leicester City fall by -31%.
“The new Government’s changes to the planning framework increases pressure on rural areas like ours and makes little sense. We should be building on brown field sites and in areas that already have good transport connections and services.
“This is compounded by the fact that Liberal Democrat-run Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have continually failed to implement an up-to-date Local Plan for the last five years.
“Not having an up-to-date Local Plan places even more pressure on our infrastructure and means that Neighbourhood Plans, made by local people who have given their time to work on them, are ridden roughshod over.
“Communities across Hinckley and Bosworth are seeing the impact that not having an up-to-date Local Plan has on our infrastructure, green space and community, and I will be taking the Minister up on his offer to discuss how we can work together on this.”
