Housing minister invited to Ribble Valley to see homes opposition

8:39am Sunday 13th January 2013 in News

ANGRY East Lancashire Conservative councillor Kevin Horkin is demanding planning minister Nick Boles MP visit the Ribble Valley to see how the borough faces being swamped by housing development.

The Clitheroe deputy mayor has accused the MP of trivialising the fears of local residents and attempting to bribe them.

Coun Horkin described the offer of money to silence protests against new housing as ‘outrageous and out-of-touch’.

Mr Boles has proposed rewarding communities which embrace new housing with cash to spend as they wish.

Coun Horkin has now written to his Westminster Conservative colleague inviting him to Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley to judge public opinion for himself.

He said: “I want him to come here and face the music. We don’t want a bribe in exchange for turning a blind eye to housing development on our greenbelt, instead we want to be listened to.

“This area has specific problems; a lack of roads, schools, doctors and dentists surgeries, which means any large scale housing development will have a devastating impact.”

Referring to a recent TV interview, when Mr Boles defended rewarding communities which supported housing developments with grant cash, coun Horkin said: “How dare the Planning Minister be so trivial and cavalier about the whole thing?

“The Ribble Valley is at the centre of the kingdom and right now it is at the centre of monumental changes in planning and housing legislation.

“The quaint market town of Clitheroe and the surrounding area is being swamped with applications from developers who see it as the perfect place to build. Not surprisingly local people are extremely worried about the future and their concerns need to heard.”

He added: “I accept that we need future housing provision, something Ribble Valley Borough Council is diligently working towards. We need a strategic plan which works not outrageous and unhelpful comments from a planning minister who is clearly out of touch.”

No-one from Mr Boles’s Whitehall department for communities and local government was able to provide a comment before the Lancashire Telegraph went to press.

Comments(12)

shedhead64 says...
9:21am Sun 13 Jan 13

NIMBY........

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doggydog says...
10:01am Sun 13 Jan 13

build but not on your doorstep eh?

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2 for 5p says...
2:13pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Quote:

Not surprisingly local people are extremely worried about the future and their concerns need to heard.”

OK then NIBBY what are you worried about.

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robotrobo says...
2:26pm Sun 13 Jan 13

please keep it down henthorn out of the way!

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Wishingwell says...
4:25pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Down South there may be shortage of urban or brownfield sites to provide housing on but that's hardly the case in East Lanc's, its just that there is more profit building in the countryside for the aspirational types rather than building on sites like the Accrington Gateway. If East Lanc's was treated as a whole for housing provision , urban areas would get more investment and the surrounding countryside could be saved for future generations to enjoy.

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Real Lancs Assembly says...
9:26am Mon 14 Jan 13

You think its bad now, wait till next year, and the doors open up to Romania and Bulgaria, the demand for new housing will increase even more as well as other services, the trouble with the English these days is they cant see the wood for the trees. Vote Ukip

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Plasticbertrand says...
11:54am Mon 14 Jan 13

I think we can say goodbye and good riddance to the superlatively ineffective Nigel Evans as MP and look forward to a UKIP one who will fight for our community.

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Plasticbertrand says...
12:15pm Mon 14 Jan 13

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh, as he did write a little piece in the Ribble Valley magazine about how nice his visit to the sorting office was at Christmas. It was heart warming to know that the Royal Mail staff were all busy delivering cards and presents and I'm sure his presence really jeered them on.

Apparently he also managed to bribe the charming 'Anti Communities Secretary' Eric Pickles in to having a cup of tea and Ginsters' pork pie with him at Westminster and tell him that he is upsetting us all over his refusal to allow any environmental impact reports on the decimation of our rural countryside. Will anything come of it ? I very much doubt it.

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Plasticbertrand says...
12:16pm Mon 14 Jan 13

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh, as he did write a little piece in the Ribble Valley magazine about how nice his visit to the sorting office was at Christmas. It was heart warming to know that the Royal Mail staff were all busy delivering cards and presents and I'm sure his presence really jeered them on.

Apparently he also managed to bribe the charming 'Anti Communities Secretary' Eric Pickles in to having a cup of tea and Ginsters' pork pie with him at Westminster and tell him that he is upsetting us all over his refusal to allow any environmental impact reports on the decimation of our rural countryside. Will anything come of it ? I very much doubt it.

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Old Alzheimer says...
7:16pm Mon 14 Jan 13

Plasticbertrand wrote:
I think we can say goodbye and good riddance to the superlatively ineffective Nigel Evans as MP and look forward to a UKIP one who will fight for our community.
Couldn't agree more !!

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UKIP-Ron says...
9:20pm Sat 2 Feb 13

well at least some one ( mr horkins ) is doing some thing not keen on his party, with 100,000 houses reorted empty in england and the goverment paying money for demolision of sub stander housing and leaving the sites empty, like in Burnely and Hyburn what chance have we got, its not only the RV being effected its all over the Northwest.
Any way all these new comers will get a warm northen welcome no doubt.

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UKIP-Ron says...
9:25pm Sat 2 Feb 13

does any one know if the RV mp Evans is actualy in the UK .last time i heard if was on one of his jollies again to China via hong kong seeing how well behaved the chinies children are in class.
how many freebies is that now i wonder over the years.
or is he spending his time with his friends in up town london lol

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