Like its predecessor, the government has failed to reach a decision on the future ofCrawley’s North-East Sector, an area covered by the Pound Hill North ward of Crawley Borough Council. An announcement was expected by the end of October but has again been deferred at the last minute. We are told that this decision will be made “soon”. I understand the pressures on government time but the direction that is finally chosen will have a profound effect on Crawley.
There was a housing allocation for 2,500 new homes in the North East Sector and a planning application for delivering 1,900 new homes within the same area. Many issues are at stake here. If development on this scale was permitted, it would go a very long way towards meeting Crawley’s genuine housing need.
As a result, new housing densities across the rest ofCrawleycould be reduced and there would be less pressure from developers for ‘garden grabbing’. It should be noted that recent government policy changes do not prevent this practice. All that has changed is that garden land is redesignated from brownfield (previously developed) togreenfield(not previously developed). Developers can still table planning applications for any land whether they own it or not. A North-East Sector development could make it easier to defend against such practices as our housing needs would be met elsewhere.
It is also true that development in the North-East Sector would largely remove options for a meaningful increase in Gatwick’s capacity from a second runway. At least that would be the case if the government takes full account of the noise contour issues in the whole area. So again, the arrival of any government decision on this matter is of fundamental importance.
If housing development proceeds, this implies a limit to a volume-based expansion at Gatwick and an emphasis on smarter growth, perhaps through increasing the proportion of air traffic that is business-related. Either way, a decision by government allows progress of a kind to be planned and executed.
It is often said that business likes to operate with some degree of certainty. This is understandable. While the best plans adapt, it is good to have a vision that does not have too great a risk of being totally derailed. Business is not alone in taking this view. Those of us engaged in local government could do with some certainty thrown our way too.
Whatever we may individually believe is the right way forward for the North-East Sector, it is clear that procrastination is the thief of progress.
Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council
3rd November 2010