Steve Darling on planning overhaul: housing in Torbay should be community-led, not dictated from Whitehall

Following the Government’s announcement of a new planning framework, which allows developers to bypass elected local councillors and requires councils to review green belt land, Steve Darling  has called on Labour to stop “ignoring local communities like ours in Torbay”.

Steve added that local services needed to be “built alongside new homes” and that there needs to be a bigger focus on addressing the “desperate lack of social housing”.

Steve said: “The new homes we need in Torbay must be genuinely affordable and community led, not dictated from Whitehall, with local services like GPs, schools and public transport built alongside new homes.

“In Torbay and across the south west, there are vulnerable families who are desperate for a safe and warm home. The most effective way to deliver homes at the pace we need is to have local communities on board. That way, we can build homes to help solve the care crisis, aid vulnerable families who are living in temporary accommodation, and better support younger generations.  

“It is clear that Britain is in a housing crisis, but this announcement does not address the root problem - a desperate lack of social housing. The Government must recognise that communities are best placed to deliver the homes and services we need.”