The people of Romsey spoke out about Ridgeon’s over-development, they attended an open meeting and protested about McLaren plan for 331 student homes on Mill Road and they want to protect community facilities at  the Labour Club, but are the council listening or stifling debate by spinning?

Is ‘Localism’ just a LibDem buzz word to deflect debates: leaving those in power the opportunity to spin for market forces that serve the rich and powerful and push up rents and house prices.

Attempts to move the debate on by local people and Labour are spun as incursions into civil liberties in an attempt to divert the debate and hide 14 years of failure.

Labour are not anti-student, nor against helping provide homes for people – what we are against is the way debates are hijacked to stop the voice of local people being heard.

You may wish to read Colin Wiles piece in the Guardian about how planning policy serves those in power.

“Localism sounds fine in principle but the reality is that the well-off and the well-housed are using it to resist, rather than promote, the development of new homes.

…

In the national debate about housing, the voices of the homeless and badly housed are not being heard. There is a democratic deficit in our planning system the voices of those who need homes need to be heard too.”

Listen to the people

Dave Baigent calls for the voice of the people to be heard and following the public meeting that he called to discuss McLaren’s proposal, he was invited to meet with the developers.  At that meeting on the morning of the 14th April, Dave pushed the people’s view that they wanted houses built on the site.

Dave was and is active in the campaign to stop the over-development of Ridgeons where the petition by over 500 people was ignored.  He has represented that voice by being a public speaker at full council and in undertaking training to speak at the inspectors review of the draft local plan.

Dave is also de-facto chair of a small group meeting to monitor the situation at Romsey Labour Club and he attended the meeting with the developers on the afternoon of the 14th April.

Labour is also calling for a council run agency to help protect renters and landlords – An agency that Dave believes will regulate the market without actually regulating.

Dave is listening and acting to protect all the people of Romsey – tell him what you think!

Labour’s Manifesto for the 22nd May City Election