Caroline Spelman has attacked Labour for giving the green light to Green Belt destruction across the South East.
Despite Gordon Brown promising to “robustly” protect Green Belt land, councils have been instructed to remove Green Belt protection in a number of areas across the South East and follow binding targets for new development.
The Government’s ‘South East Plan’ signals the removal of Green Belt protection in Guildford, Woking, Oxford, Chertsey, Maidenhead, Tunbridge Wells, Redhill and Reigate, and also allows rubbish dumps, landfill sites and incinerators to be built on the Green Belt.
Caroline, the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, promised to scrap these plans and let communities decide the right level of development.
She attacked Gordon Brown for the “shocking betrayal” of his promise to protect Green Belt land, and warned:
“These top-down Whitehall building targets will lead to unsustainable urban sprawl, extra congestion, higher carbon emissions and more flooding, ruining many communities’ quality of life. This will only deliver the sink estates of the 21st Century, lacking proper infrastructure or environmental sustainability.”