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Following the overwhelming 'no vote' against the introducation of
a Regional Assembly in the North East of England, you would have
thought the idea of regional bodies with real power was now on the
back burner. Quite the opposite, regional assemblies are a reality
and here in the South West this body is starting to flex its muscle.
SW Regional
Assembly
The Assembly for the South West is based in Taunton and costs the
tax payer around £41m a year to run. It has accumulated powers
from local councils including responsibility over new housing.
The Assembly
has 'told' Bournemouth Council to consider increasing its rate at
which new homes are being built to over 1500 a year, leading to
the creation of over 20,000 new homes by 2026. This forms part of
the Government's national strategy of building more homes in the
South of England while over 400,000 houses are pulled down in the
North.
20,000 more
houses
As residents are well aware, our present infrastructure is already
struggling to cope with current levels of use. To build 20,000 more
homes without investment in our roads, public transport, hospitals
and schools would change the very character of Bournemouth.
Threat to our Green Belt
There is also the question of where extra housing could be built.
To meet this imposed target would mean building on Bournemouth's
Greenbelt, probably in the north of the town, around the Hospital
and Muscliff.
Airport Development
Tobias Ellwood MP believes, firstly that it should be Bournemouth
that decides its housing needs and not an unaccountable body in
Taunton. And secondly, no major development should take place until
we have solved our present infrastructure problems, beginning with
Castle Lane.
Unaccountable
Both Labour and the Lib Dems support the idea of Regional Assemblies
- but Conservatives believe local government accountability is hard
enough without introducing another tier of bureaucracy. Power should
returned to local councils.
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