Yesterday, the District Council decided not to amend its plans for housing in Southwell, and made one small alteration to the plan for the industrial estate on the east of the town, south of Crew Lane.

Despite many comments from Southwell residents and groups to the Council, saying that the Council had not listened to local people’s views – making the plans unsound – the Council voted 31 in favour with 4 opposed to making no changes.

Sadly, the debate was brief, with no Conservative Councillor apart from the Leader of the Council speaking.

Even worse, the Leader’s comments concentrated on criticising the Liberal Democrats in Southwell, saying that we were calling for no new houses in Southwell and preventing our young people being able to live here.

This is not what I have said. It is not what the Town has said. It is not what the Civic Society has said or many residents too. We are objecting to the plans for new housing estates that will have even more 4/5 bedroomed houses on the edge of the town. The council has proposed such a low density of houses, in estates off Halloughton Road and Lower Kirklington Road of 30 houses per hectare, that few smaller houses will be planned.

It is the Conservatives who want these new housing estates [and on some land owned by their own members and councillors!] Instead, I have proposed that the new houses that we will have [totalling 425 new houses in the plan – of which 290+ will be on these new estates] should be smaller and affordable houses. Bear in mind that 87% of all new houses in the past 10 years have been 4/5bedroom houses – despite the promise of smaller houses here in the last plan.

One of the new houses built under the last plan - which was supposed to prioritise smaller and affordable houses for Southwell!

Sadly, Labour councillors voted with the Conservatives yet again. They have voted with the Tories over 98% of the time despite the Council having no overall control!

In the earlier Cabinet meeting [at 3pm] I recorded the short debate as residents wanted to hear what the all Conservative member Cabinet was saying. This caused uproar with one councillor saying that there should be no recording of what was being said. Of course not – it was far too embarrassing for them! Please contact me if you want to see the video – if you want to be shocked at how little regard the Cabinet have for the views of local residents.