Michael Gove latest housing plans for South Cambridgeshire
Pippa's response in the media to Michael Gove and Conservative MPs' latest plans for thousands more houses in South Cambridgeshire
I have today written to Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Housing about the absurd and undeliverable plans by Conservative MPs to build an additional 250,000 houses in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire and to weaken environmental protections in order to do so.
The joint Local Plan being developed by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire Councils already proposes significant housebuilding to meet the needs of our local communities and world-leading biomedical and tech sectors. But this Conservative plan rides roughshod over the voice of local residents and the new Local Plan and fails to address the water crisis whilst worsening the sewage pollution of our rivers. I support sustainable growth that provides genuinely affordable homes near efficient public transport and that protects the character of our villages. To do this, as I have said for the last 18 months, requires urgent government investment to solve the water crisis. Instead we have these plans for house building at a scale that would triple the size of Cambridge and that have devastating disregard for the environment. This just shows we can't trust the Conservatives with our environment and the future of our area. In my letter I seek reassurance from the Secretary of State for residents on five key points.
Download the full text of my letter to Michael Gove.