Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet) (Con) [V]: The Prime Minister has
said, and he has written in his foreword to the environment White
Paper, that he is pledged to protect the countryside. The
countryside is more than just a bit of green belt around the home
counties. In Westgate, Birchington and Herne Bay in my
constituency, and indeed across much of the garden of England,
there are plans to smother acres of prime agricultural land in
housing that is not needed for local people but that is
needed...Request free trial
(North Thanet) (Con) [V]: The Prime Minister has said, and
he has written in his foreword to the environment White Paper, that
he is pledged to protect the countryside. The countryside is more
than just a bit of green belt around the home counties. In
Westgate, Birchington and Herne Bay in my constituency, and indeed
across much of the garden of England, there are plans to smother
acres of prime agricultural land in housing that is not needed for
local people but that is needed to grow the crops to reduce the
amount of food we import at a cost of carbon emissions. If the
Prime Minister is the friend of the countryside, will he announce
an immediate moratorium on the use of all farmland for housing,
while the whole policy is reviewed?
The Prime Minister: I think I have just heard my right hon. Friend
say that he wants an immediate moratorium on the construction of
all housing. Maybe I misunderstood; I do not think that to be
realistic. What I can certainly tell him is that we will take very
seriously the points he makes. I know that my right hon. Friend the
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
has met him, and will be glad to meet him again, to discuss the
subject he raises. However, this Government’s commitment to nature
and to the countryside is unmatched. We have just consecrated 30%
of our land surface to nature.
