A dispatch from Pippbrook where tonight, Mole Valley's councillors will be voting on the adoption of the Lib Dem Local Plan.
After four years of public consultations and a public examination, the Inspector has issued her report which finds the Local Plan sound. This means that the Local Plan is able to be adopted by the District Council.
This is a disappointing decision which gives our countryside no protection from development in 31 locations across Mole Valley. That's one location for every Councillor the Lib Dems have on the council. It's expected that as they are the main advocates for the plan, the majority of the Lib Dem administration's Councillors will vote in favour of adopting the plan. We wanted to highlight the consequences of this decision to residents of Mole Valley.
The Development Management Committee will have to give significant weight to the Local Plan in all future decisions on planning applications in the 31 sites agreed.
These 31 sites aren't what the Labour government would consider grey belt. They are beautiful fields covered in protected habitats with an abundance of wildlife. Residents objected to the inclusion of these sites on a variety of grounds including flooding, lack of infrastructure, access and traffic issues among others.
A different path could have been taken. The Liberal Democrats could have chosen to develop brownfield sites such as former offices, garages and industrial areas where development would be in line with the area's character. Instead, our Lib Dem administration made a political decision to desecrate our countryside in 31 locations.
They talk about protecting the environment. They talk about care and compassion. But how can we be sure they care about the environment when they are going above and beyond the national Labour government's desires to build on the countryside? And how can we be sure the new residents will be able to live in safe and decent conditions when this isn't guaranteed by the Lib Dems in their existing housing stock? They are paving the way for Labour to concrete over Surrey acting as their cheerleaders rather than acting as a decent opposition protecting residents' interests.
Cllr Joanna Slater, Leader of Mole Valley Conservatives says, "The Conservatives have consistently voted against the local plan put forward by the Lib Dems. The plan includes development on 31 green belt sites, and fails to properly model the impact on our roads and infrastructure. It’s ill conceived and out of date even before it has been approved."
We speak for thousands of disappointed residents when we say this is a sad day for Mole Valley.
