Crispin Blunt

Conservative Party | Reigate

MPs voice opposition to the Horley master plan as public inquiry opens

The inquiry into the Horley Master Plan opened today. Local MPs Peter Ainsworth and Crispin Blunt will be advancing their arguments against the proposal to build 2,600 homes in the Horley area at the Inquiry next month. Today, the MPs' representative was present at the opening discussion on housing allocations and Crispin Blunt has today written to the Head of Planning at Surrey County Council to object to the housing distributions contained in the county's new Structure Plan.

Crispin Blunt said, "The Horley Master Plan is a product of the Government's top down approach which is called "plan, monitor and manage" in name but which is more akin to "impose and deliver" in reality. There is no local need or call for this urban sprawl."

The impetus behind the proposal for such extensive development comes from the Surrey Structure Plan which in turn has had to repsond to national policy. John Prescott rejected the concerns of the regional planning authorities and raised the house building targets above what they had said was the absolute maximum that could be anticipated without intolerable damage to the environment and the Green Belt.

"2,600 houses should not be built in an area where the surrounding infrastructure is already unable to cope with the increasing traffic congestion. Located far from the town centre and railway station, the implications for congestion and pollution are obvious.

"2,600 houses should not be built on land prone to being waterlogged and where there is a risk of serious flooding in the years to come, especially given the heightened risk of flooding across the country as a result of climate change.

"2,600 houses should not be built on greenfields, further eroding the countryside. A project of this scale represents environmental vandalism, when there are opportunities for brownfield development, which would be better for both the environment and the economy."

The Horley Master Plan develops green fields adjacent to where the Green Belt has almost ceased to exist along the A23 corridor.

"The practical problems with the Horley Master Plan will come to light in this inquiry. It is becoming more untenable by the day. The new Surrey Structure Plan should give us a chance to reappraise the situation and set out a more sustainable approach for the future, and I have written to the County Council to argue this case".