Saturday 3 March 2012

Campaign Update: Ponteland Greenbelt

I suppose I should welcome the partial u-turn by Newcastle's Labour administration to cut the number of houses it plans to build on the greenbelt. You will remember Labour administration at the city council were proposing to build the thousands of houses on the greenbelt near Ponteland.

Truth be told there is some good news here for our campaign. The amount of greenbelt housing will be reduced. Despite telling us they had to go ahead with the plans, they have now agreed to cut the number of house planned for the Ponteland greenbelt by 1000. I would like to see no building on the greenbelt but it's a step in the right direction. Just months after taking control of Newcastle Council, Labour announced their plans to build on much of the green spaces in and around the city. I fully understand the need to build new homes but their failure to consult with neighbouring Ponteland or consider the wider housing strategy was bizarre.
Newcastle Labour's claim, that there was no alternative to Green Belt development, has now been proved to be utter rubbish. They have now accepted our argument that they can make better use of brownfield sites and empty homes in the city.

Our campaign isn't over and the fight continues to protect our greenbelt. Many congratulations to all the Ponteland and Callerton objectors.