‘I have long campaigned for the right type of development’-Councillor Damian White.

Continuing our series on over development, today Havering’s Leader of the Council, Councillor Damian White writes in the Havering Daily.

“I have long campaigned for the right type of development for our Borough and to avoid the housing targets set by Mayor Khan that would otherwise turn us into a concrete jungle. The present system means that unless we meet the Mayor’s targets, our Council is financially penalised as well as losing control over our planning system – disenfranchising our local residents from the planning system.

“We do need housing but we need the right type of housing in the right places across our country. I firmly believe that a new generation of new towns is needed to help solve the housing supply issue facing our country. By creating new settlements, the required infrastructure can be built as part of the development and not having to be squeezed in afterwards.

“Everyone should have a right to a quality place to call home. This should not come at the expense of the characteristics of communities and here in Havering, we should have the ability to avoid the type of high-rise development that Mayor Khan is trying to force upon us.”