Crispin Blunt

Conservative Party | Reigate

Crispin Blunt Stands Up Against Infill Housing In His Surrey Mirror Column

With Parliament in the middle of the long summer recess, the long months in the run up to the General Election, and the condensed parliamentary session which followed, are slowly fading memories. While the House of Commons is not sitting, the summer break allows me and my colleagues in Parliament to recharge our batteries and to reflect without distraction on the political challenges ahead from our constituencies rather than from Westminster.

I have not forgotten that on the night of General Election I promised to work to protect Reigate and it’s surrounding villages from ever increasing demands for new houses. As Nick Skellet pointed out in this column last week, all of Surrey has to meet the need for increased housing without damaging the character of its towns and countryside. This is a particularly acute problem for Reigate and Redhill, which face some of the highest targets for new housing.

I am especially concerned at the spread of infill developments. Although the immediate impact of infill is less visible, little by little it could change Reigate forever.  There are reasons why the government and local authorities encourage infill, as opposed to entirely new developments: infill does not require areas that were previously farm land or common land to become urbanised and it is consequently less obviously offensive. However, as Nick Skellet rightly points out, increased housing must be matched by an expanding infrastructure. While a new development might include expansion of the water supply or new shops and local facilities, infill does not. So a road that previously had a population of, say, 40 people, could double in population as more houses are added or as houses are converted to flats. This obviously brings with it more cars, more pollution, more waste and greater strain on the water supply. It also stretches public services: more people need more doctors, teachers, policemen and emergency services.

        Infill is also more likely in areas where house prices are very high, as they are in Reigate. Property developers are able to make offers of hundreds of thousands of pounds to people to put a new house in a corner of their land and it is not difficult to see why many are unable to resist. If a small patch of garden can be sold for a life-changing sum of money many people are prepared to take the money and move house. Reigate’s character and charm should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. Reigate and Banstead Borough Council are currently examining how to make it harder for speculators to fuel infill building. I will be supporting the council whole-heartedly in its policy to resist this infill building that is such a threat to the character of the community which we all treasure.