MP says Labour to blame for high-density building

8:19am Saturday 5th July 2008

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BASINGSTOKE'S MP has attacked Labour councillors opposing a major development on a landmark site - saying they only have themselves to blame for high-density house-building.

Norden ward councillors Paul Harvey and Laura James have been leading opposition to developer Lemon Land's proposal to build about 450 flats, 200 houses, commercial buildings, a learning campus and to relocate Basingstoke College of Technology to the former Eli Lilly manufacturing site and neighbouring Victoria lot in Kingsclere Road.

Like the Labour councillors, Conservative MP Maria Miller said she is "really concerned" about the number of flats in the scheme.

But the MP added the two councillors, both members of the joint Labour and Liberal Democrat council administration voted out of power in 2006, had signed up to the high house-building targets that made it difficult for the now Conservative-controlled Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to resist high-density housing developments.

Mrs Miller told The Gazette: "They cannot have their cake and eat it. They can't say we are going to have house-building and then complain when a developer starts to put them in areas they represent."

In a coded dig at former council leader Cllr Harvey in particular, Mrs Miller said: "Given one of the councillors' position in the previous administration, it's difficult to see how the Labour group could not have seen this as a consequence of their actions.

"I think this is a lesson in looking at the longer-term consequences of the decisions that are made.

"The council has to work within the guidelines for house-building. If a piece of land has been put forward for house-building, it's very difficult for them the council to resist that because the previous administration signed up to the highest level of house building."

Regarding concerns over the developer's proposed plans for the former Lilly site, Mrs Miller said: "I can understand residents' concerns about extra pressure on the roads. The important thing is that we must have a development in that area of town which offers as much to the community and the wider area as possible.

"I'm really concerned about the amount of flatted development in there. That's driven by the Government and there's little the borough council can do about it. I really think that needs to be looked at closely."

She added: "I would always like family houses to be given priority in Basingstoke because I think there's a shortage of family housing in the surrounding areas, so I always have an ongoing concern when I see there's flatted development planned for the centre of the town.

"In terms of using it as a new home for BCOT, I think that's a good idea. BCOT has tried really hard to make this site work for them."

Mrs Miller said money needed to be spent improving the town's infrastructure to cope with the high levels of housing development proposed in Basingstoke.

"There needs to be an investment of £300million to even start to bring our roads and other local services up to standard," she said.

Councillors Harvey and James were scathing in their response to Mrs Miller's comments.

Cllr James said: "We recognise we need to build houses. We want appropriate development within Basingstoke, but it doesn't mean we have to destroy communities.

"If she's saying she's happy for that development to go into Norden because we have signed up for that, that's appalling." She added: "I could deliver these house-building numbers without destroying the town centre."

Cllr Harvey said: "I think it is very sad that Mrs Miller has descended into cheap party political point-scoring when this issue is about our residents - their issues and concerns.

"This is a growing trend from the Conservative administration - don't blame us, it's all the opposition's fault'. Where's the leadership in that?

"They the Conservative administration are building more houses than even we were proposing - 1,000 homes a year will be built."

Cllr Harvey said that the previous administration had wanted the right homes in the right places, and pointed to Cliddesden as a rural example of where it had been right to oppose house-building.