Charnwood 2026 - Blog

Charnwood 2026 is the Local Development Framework which sets out how the Borough will meet its housing, economic and environmental needs over the next 15 years. It is a really important planning process with wide consultation taking place across the Borough.

Planning is and always remain controversial. It is important that people take an early interest in the process - at this LDF stage. This decides the strategic location of housing and employment land. I always urge people to get involved now. It is too late when the bulldozers are arriving on site 10 years later!

It is the job of the locally elected authorities to decide where housing and employment land need will be met. There is a clear timetable and process. It is open and transparent. This is the system you need to use.

My role as a Member of Parliament is not to choose the sites that the Borough Council should choose. There are strict guidelines about what can and can't be done and what Councillors can and can't say and do before making a final decision. It would be like a juror deciding the guilt in a court case before hearing the evidence! Besides I think it would be rank hypocrisy to go round to all protest groups telling them you oppose development x, Y & Z. It would be easier but certainly not very honest.

So when I am asked I will happily try and help groups understand the process and how best to effectively have their voice heard. But I can't and won't be making announcements about which sites the Borough Council should or shouldn't approve. The process is so complex it would be wrong to make simple objections without the strategic framework being taken into account.

I accept that housing is needed. Nobody who takes any serious interest in planning denies the charging nature of household means we need to find between 3-4 million homes by 2020. The government have set tough targets of 60% being built on 'brownfield sites' I have supported this - but it does mean that at times other sites will need to be found. This is where local councillors come in and they are directly responsible in allocating the land.

So I have remained resolutely consistent in neither proposing and supporting any developers proposal and not publicly opposing specific proposals. I have no vote in these matters and therefore, my role is to make sure voices are heard by the decision makers for ALL my constituents. At LDF level this means there may well be opposing groups from across the constituency and I need to be supportive of all their chances of having their voices heard.