SIR – Regularly in the local news we hear about the “clamouring need” nationally for new local housing and how developers always want to put it where current locals don’t want it. I.e. a new estate here, one there and another one there etc... we’ve certainly had this issue thrown at us many times locally in and around Romsey.

Only for either the county councils to ignore the local parish or community’s wishes or local government to ride rush shod over everyone and insist it’s necessary, when it isn’t always.

Why then is it, if there is such a clamouring need, that once everyone has got annoyed and irritated over being ignored, and the plans get approval, the builders involve just put up signs to say it’s going to happen and then nothing does! This is what’s happened in Rownhams.

If it’s urgent, they should be forced to start within weeks of winning their case and actually get on and build.

If it’s not, why on earth did the authorities permit the plans to go ahead.

There is either that, or they do a few and the balance is then drawn out over years.

Not to mention all the grand ideas and things they say they will incorporate to win the planning application i.e. shops, doctors surgeries, dentists, school, community halls etc, only for those aspects to very rarely result.

To me that means they obtained permission on a fraudulent basis.

Add to this no one ever seems to think about whether the local infrastructure can actually take such developments, for example water resources, roads, flood plains etc.

My point is this. When on earth will this country get its act together and do proper infrastructure and development planning. New housing doesn’t just have to be in the south. Use the whole country. Yes, build to help local communities thrive and for local children to stay in the area if they want to, but don’t just set arbitrary targets for properties that either are not necessary, nobody wants or that no one can actually afford. Utilise more brownfield sites and retain the green sites where we can.

If a new estate is really necessary, make building firms get on and actually develop them. Also make houses to suit all pocket sizes. Not everyone can afford the grand 4 or 5 bedroom places that actually get developed. The real needs as I see it are good two or three bedroom places at reasonable prices. Here I’d cap the price based on a fixed profit margin that's based on the land price added to the material and labour costs necessary to build them.

Also build houses with parking space(s) and or garages. An nice new estate with every road cluttered by parked cars is not actually pleasant. In fact it’s scruffy and unsightly not to mention is actually unsafe when emergency vehicles need to get through.

Also to social housing. I’m not a snob, but why does it have all have to be integrated to all new estate builds. Why can’t we have social housing ‘estates, build in parallel. We used to do that and it worked, so why not now? Let’s have some good old common sense back and being used at local government level with proper joined up thinking so we can all live comfortably in an environment that suits everyone, does evolve to accommodate local development needs and not just politicians and bean counters. We’d all be much happier.

STEPHEN HUNT

Rownhams