Bury North MP urged to back bill to end the 'garden grab'

Reporter: Ask Bury
Date online: 02/02/2007

BURY NORTH MP, David Chaytor, has been urged to back proposals to end the over-development of existing residential neighbourhoods, known as "garden grabbing’.  The proposals are contained in a bill being presented to Parliament today, would change John Prescott’s regulations, introduced in 2000, that force all new developments to cram in at least 12 new dwellings in every acre.

Conservative Spokesman, David Nuttall, said: "I really hope Mr Chaytor will stand up for local homeowners and back this Bill.  We are seeing people’s gardens classified as "brownfield land’ and suitable for development.  These regulations are also having the effect of encouraging more flats to be built and not enough homes for starter families.  We need a good mix of homes in Bury, that don’t blight local communities and cater for everyone from the first time buyer, through to the retired."

Conservative MP Caroline Spelman who is introducing the Bill said "When the gardens are part of a family-sized house, the house itself will be demolished to free up more land for more denser units of accommodation.  This is happening all over the country, in the north and south, and development in such a chaotic, unplanned way is unsustainable in the long-term and destructive in the short-term."

"This Bill is about acknowledging the crucial part gardens and urban green spaces play in creating balanced and rewarding places to live.  It’s about making sure we get the right homes in the right places.  And, above all, it is about giving planning authorities and the communities they represent, such as Bury, a real say in the shape of their neighbourhoods."

Land Use (Gardens Protection etc) Bill

A Bill to make provision for the protection of gardens and urban green space; to confer on local authorities powers to set housing density targets; to make provision about the transfer of land formerly used for economic purposes to residential use; to transfer to local authorities certain powers relating to housing and planning to local authorities; and for connected purposes.

A copy of the Bill may be found here: http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/GardensProtection.pdf