Neil Garratt
Neil Garratt
Conservative London Assembly Candidate for Croydon & Sutton

Labour’s War On The Suburbs

 

Support my campaign

Many people move to outer London boroughs such as Sutton and Croydon to enjoy our safe suburban family housing, but in Croydon Labour are transforming our area’s character by bulldozing home after home for isolated blocks of flats.

Now the Labour Mayor aims to widen their onslaught to the whole of London, even where Labour aren’t in control, such as Sutton.

His planned “small sites” policy will encourage developers to demolish family houses to build small flats, and strip boroughs of their powers to prevent it. Our local character would be lost for ever.

Back gardens provide important wildlife habitats, reduce flood risk, reduce the urban heat island effect in summer, and provide a calm oasis in the city. They need protection not concreting over.

Replacing family homes with 1 and 2 bedroom flats creates over-crowding, as family-sized homes become even scarcer.

we must stop labour’s smash-and-grab short termism. support my campaign to save our family housing.

The good news is that there is a better way. Below you can read more detail on the problem and what we would do instead.

 

Sign my petition

 

What Would Conservatives Do Instead?

We have a positive alternative to Labour’s destruction. Our report Save Our Suburbs sets out where Labour are getting it wrong and what we would do instead.

The full report is below, here are the 11 recommendations:

  1. Amend policy H2 on “small sites” so it doesn’t target existing houses.

  2. Restore protection against back garden development.

  3. Allow boroughs to use commercial land for housing if they wish.

  4. Restore the density matrix, so suburban areas with low public transport aren’t overwhelmed with high density housing.

  5. Recognise and preserve the important character of London’s suburbs in planning guidance.

  6. Classify any outer London building over 6 storeys as a “tall building”, allowing boroughs to prevent them in inappropriate sites.

  7. Put investment targets for affordable family-sized homes back in to the London Housing Strategy.

  8. Allow boroughs to set targets for family-sized homes.

  9. Revise London’s Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to recognise the need for family-sized housing, especially in outer London.

  10. Allow outer London boroughs to set their own parking policy.

  11. Review office-to-residential permitted development with a view to exempting locations where it isn’t working.

Please sign my petition above to show your support for our campaign to protect our suburbs and family homes. If you are able to do more than sign a petition, please get in touch to find out how you can help my campaign.

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Full report

Read the full Conservative London Assembly report, on Labour’s war on the suburbs and what Conservatives would do differently.

Save Our Suburbs