Shady deals mean nobody profits but new home builders

Go on, call me a Nimby. It's OK, I don't mind. It is something I'm accused of from time to time — but, as a local councillor, I think caring deeply about my area and wanting any development to be thoughtful, sustainable and fair on other residents is the bare minimum people should expect.

- Mieka Smiles

Right now, however, it feels like the very last field in our area is about to be concreted over. A planning application has just gone in from one of the big developers.

These estates seem to be thrown up in next to no time, featuring endless rows of identikit homes, hundreds of them, with little thought to the wider community. Green spaces are limited to a grass verge or two, streets are lined with cars that don't fit in diddy driveways and gardens are just about big enough for a solitary deckchair.

I get it. We do need more homes in the UK. I just don't think this is the way.

I'd prefer more innovative solutions, such as reviving abandoned town centres by incorporating housing, plus real discounts for first-time buyers in neighbourhoods that need stability and longer-term residents.

I'm not anti-development, just anti-bad development.

STRONGLY feel that these boxy new builds shouldn't be shoved on every inch of our countryside without careful consideration of the pressure they'll put on the existing infrastructure: roads, schools, health services. Getting a GP appoint ment is already a nigh on impossible task in many areas. A checkup at the dentist? Forget it.