CLA urges Government not to forget core purpose of Matthew Taylor Report

The CLA today (Monday, 5 January) urged the Government not to forget the initial and crucial purpose of Matthew Taylor's report, 'A Living Working Countryside', which was to focus on the ability of the planning system to provide sufficient land to meet the need for sustainable development in rural areas – and that means more than housing.

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "The report includes important recommendations on the issue of rural housing needs which have been heavily focused on by the press. But let's not forget the report's equally important recommendations on the need to focus on the provision of more and better paid jobs and employment sites in rural areas.

 

"We must not lose sight of the fact that employment opportunities in rural areas feed the equally important need for affordable housing. It's only by taking a balanced approach to 'sustainable development', which includes economic needs - that we will achieve rural communities that are sustainable in the long term."

 

The CLA President added: "If Government is to propose less restrictive policies for employment and housing needs in rural areas, which will be very welcome, then any new development or developments must be appropriate in terms of scale and design and must reflect the needs of each rural settlement and its rural area.

 

"Most importantly, the proposed policies must be deliverable and seen to be deliverable, something that is not the case currently."

 

 

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