Government plans to hold local referendums on new housing schemes in England could tear village communities apart, rural campaigners have said. They say plans to require at least 90% of local people to approve new building schemes in villages would create conflict and bring projects to a halt. The Rural Coalition says that elected parish councils should instead be able to initiate community-led developments.
The government wants new developments to have overwhelming support. Its Community Right to Build initiative aims to provide small numbers of affordable homes in rural areas where high property prices are driving people away. Announced as part of David Cameron's "big society" idea, the plans would enable villagers to form local housing trusts and build homes without seeking council planning permission, subject to the referendum results.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has previously criticised the proposals, saying there should be proper planning scrutiny of house building by democratically elected councillors, rather than a simple public ballot. The Rural Coalition, which is made up of groups from the public, private and charity sectors - including the Local Government Association and the Campaign to Protect Rural England - has called this a "do-or-die moment" for villages. The problem, it said, was that rural services faced government cuts, village house prices were too high and wages too low.
Although its report calls for more planning decisions to be made at a local level, it is against the part of the government's scheme that would require any new housing to be approved by an overwhelming majority of local people. The government has defended the plans, saying it was committed to protecting and preserving local villages and that was why the policy would give people the power to build new homes, shops and community facilities.
