While the festive celebrations are well underway locally, Parliamentary business in Westminster has continued at pace. In the past week there have been two significant announcements from the Government.
Firstly, the Government published a White Paper on local government reorganisation.
As many of you will know, I am firmly of the belief that local authorities know their areas best and am supportive of more powers being devolved down to them to ensure the right decisions are made for our communities. However, what the Labour Government is proposing is a top-down removal of local democracy, which will abolish Sevenoaks District Council and replace it with a large unitary authority covering over 500,000 people, and quite likely based in Maidstone.
This move is far from increasing local democracy, and instead will take power and democracy further away from us. These are early days, and I will be looking into this more closely alongside your local councillors, but I am extremely concerned what this means for us in Sevenoaks, Swanley and the surrounding villages.
Secondly, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and confirmed the mandatory house-building target for our district. The new homes target is now even higher than initially indicated by the Government in October, and stands at 1,149 homes a year. This is an increase of 63% on the previous target, and means building more homes than the size of the Sevenoaks Quarry site, every single year.
Whilst Labour talk about building on the “Grey Belt”, the definition is actually much wider than this and includes Green Belt land that is considered not to “strongly contribute” to preventing urban sprawl, towns merging into each other or to preserve the setting or character of a historic town. It also excludes reference to the existing protection of “safeguarding the countryside from encroachment” and will therefore open up vast swathes of Green Belt land to development.
While it is of course imperative that we build homes for local people, we must also protect the Green Belt, and ensure new homes come with the right infrastructure for communities living here.
And finally, this is not joined up thinking. On the one hand, the Government are requiring the district council to spend hundreds of thousands of tax payers money re-doing work on the Local Plan to meet a new target and rules, yet they are also planning to abolish the very same council - quite possibly before the Local Plan can be submitted for examination. I will continue to oppose the proposals and will keep you updated with developments.
As this will be my last newsletter of the year, I want to wish all readers a very merry Christmas. Your ongoing support means so much to me and I hope you all enjoy the festivities taking place across our community.
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Below is a snapshot of what we have been working on. If there is anything I can do to support you, please get in touch.
A huge congratulations to Kyryl Antonov (Year 6, St Mary's Primary School, Swanley) on becoming this year’s Christmas Card Competition winner. Kyryl’s design has now been printed on the front of all my Christmas cards, alongside the four fantastic runners up: Maria Rinesh (Year 1, St Bartholomew's Primary School), Megan Bradley (Year 5, Wilmington Primary School), Agnes Balan (Year 6, St Mary's Primary School), Evelyn Vasyuta (Year 3, Sevenoaks Primary School). A huge thank you to all the children who entered, as well as the teachers and parents who helped the designs reach me in Westminster. I hope it got many of you into the festive spirit.
Ahead of Small Business Saturday at the start of December, it was great to visit the high street in Westerham and speak to retailers about how they are preparing for Christmas. Aya at The Westerham Farm Shop, had some fantastic local produce on display, and The Vintage Home Company, had some incredible Christmas decorations alongside their normal fabulous homeware and clothes. Please do remember to try and shop local where you can, and support our fantastic local businesses.
I know that many pensioners in our community are concerned about being able to pay their energy bills this winter, and therefore I want to circulate the attached factsheet which Age UK have put together on how to get financial help with your energy bills. I appreciate not every older person uses the internet, so if you do know a family member, friend or neighbour who might find this useful, do please consider printing it off for them. Alternatively, if they would like to get in touch with me, I can arrange for a copy to be posted out.
My petition to build the Lower Thames Crossing will close today (20th December). As many of you will know, the Lower Thames Crossing is crucial to easing the relentless congestion at the Dartford Crossing, which impacts thousands of residents every day. Sadly, a final decision on the Lower Thames Crossing has been further delayed by the Government until May 2025, which will only add further strain to our infrastructure and prolong the traffic misery. By adding your name, you can help send a clear message to the Government that our community deserves urgent and immediate action.
Today (20th December) is also the day my smartphone survey will close. There is a very lively debate taking place in society at the moment about the impact and outcomes of screen time on our children. Thank you so much for the hundreds of you who have already taken part. I am going to be using the results to speak with headteachers, and also raise awareness about smart phones and children in our community, so if you haven't already, please do encourage your friends and families to share their experience.
- Since the last bank left Swanley, I have been campaigning hard alongside Swanley councillors to secure a banking hub for the town. While the banking facilities we secured at the Post Office are a huge help, residents need and deserve a more complete banking offer available. Last week I heard that our latest application has been turned down which is deeply disappointing. A meeting will now take place with LINK (who made the decision) where my dissatisfaction will be shared, and an appeal is underway.