Tories Passing the Buck on Birds Marsh

We repeatedly are told by the Conservative candidate for Chippenham, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, that the reason a development has been planned for Birds Marsh is the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). He claims that this has forced the Conservative-led Council in Wiltshire to choose the Birds Marsh site for the development. In fact, this is completely misleading.

The RSS was developed across the South West, with full involvement of the Conservatives and Lib Dems in the South West Regional Assembly (as was) to decide how to meet the housing requirements in the region. There are 10,000 people on the housing waiting list in Wiltshire already and the population here is growing. The health of our building industry in the region is also dependent on the ability to plan ahead through coherent regional strategies.

However, the document Mr Emmanuel-Jones claims is forcing the Bird's Marsh development on Chippenham, the Wiltshire Core Strategy, says "The position of the RSS is unclear". So, it is not true that the RSS, which doesn't itself identify any sites for development, is guiding the Council's plans.

Put simply, it is the Conservative Wiltshire Council which has chosen Bird's Marsh as the "Preferred Option" for development in Chippenham, despite other parties trying to change this. Mr Emmanuel-Jones must stop claiming that somehow the national government is forcing the Council to develop the site.

The principle behind having regional strategies is to ensure that a sensible and fair allocation of new housing is achieved across the region, rather than unchecked, piecemeal developments driven by private developers. The specific sites of these much-needed houses are for the Council to decide and the Tories continue to support building on Birds Marsh, despite overwhelming local protests.

It is naive to suggest that a Conservative government would stop development on Birds Marsh. The current Tory Council is perfectly placed to stop the Birds Marsh project, but has repeatedly failed to do so. Whatever gripes Mr Emmanuel-Jones may have with the national government, it cannot be held responsible for the decisions made by a Conservative Council.

Greg Lovell, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party in Chippenham.