LDP Thrown Out
-
Posts
-
Why are some of the Wrexham Councillors so Stubborn & living in a fantasy, more homes are needed, everyone can see that, if the population does actual fall (no sign of it even though some councillors think it is), then more empty homes would be a good thing for the area as it would help bring house prices down. So many Councillors seem to be NOT IN MY BACK YARD.
I hope those who vote against the plan actually get fined & they have to personally pay the fine.JUST Back the Plan, we the public majority want more homes built in the General area.
There are 2 considerations here
1. What is the optimal way forward for Wrexham on the planning/housing front
2. The adherence of WCBC to the required process and all its protocols
On Question 1, I would suggest that many of the arguments being advanced about the non-requirement of New Builds of a 3-4 bed nature, the need for Social Housing, the threat of Commuters and the rampaging approach of profit soaked Developer capitalists is……..GASLIGHTING (though I don’t doubt that if public sector finances could afford 8000 social houses that might help + service facilities are lacking)
On Question 2, I would advise that people check out the exact nature of the LDP. It is time sensitive and there is a clear process in play. The process was actually followed until very late in the day when several people rowed backwards. Oops. On time-scaled exercises that are supported by stringent legal aspects, such shenanigans needed to occur several years ago.
Apart from the LDP provisions itself, what point a “vote” if there is, in effect, no choice but to “vote” in favour? Reminiscent of the Chinese style of government, yes, you CAN vote against the measure BUT, you will pay heavily if you do! Another thing to note is that, by going to court the developers have shown to us, the Council Tax paying residents that all they are interested in is profit because, as they knew it would, it has cost us dearly at a time when money (isn’t it always?)is tight
Now that the LDP has finally been approved, so many new developments are being recommended. The developments do seem rather large though & seem to lack 2 bedroom homes which the Council should INSIST on being built? Although new home are needed, as I don’t believe Plaid Cymru & others that we don’t need new homes because the population is not increasing. The population is not increasing because people in Wrexham cant find a home in Wrexham.
I know so many young people purchasing homes just over the border into Flintshire because of the lack of homes within Wrexham.
Whilst not 2 bedroom, what happened to providing large apartment blocks as part of these sorts of development? It seems in the 00s when the houses along Ruthin Road were built it was the norm to have medium density apartments somewhere on the development.
Now developers have completely recessed into packing as many 3 and 4 bedrooms as possible into the land they have.
Affordable homes are all well and good but when included (grudgingly) in these developments they often tend to be immediately hived off to housing associations and that precludes anyone actually owning one outright. Not everyone wants to be a tenant.
I see Plaid Cymru are indulging in their usual idiocy.Apparently since WCBC ‘ were forced to adopt ( their own LDP “ developers have magically produced 550 houses !
Since the said meeting , where PC did a petty walk out thats 15 days including Christmas and New Year .
And if it is coming to a January committee it was lodged BEFORE the council’ were forced to adopt their ( own ) plan. GIGO with this bunch!WHY are some councillors still so OPSESSED with disguising the LDP & trying to through it out, they are so so out of touch in thinking Wrexham does not need thousands of new homes, just look at the new homes being built just of the A483, almost every single one so far say Sold on them. There is a total lack of New homes & new rented homes in Wrexham.
We all know that there is a down side to the current in the pipe line housing proposals. I really do wish that people who haven’t got a veiled agenda would start to trumpet the up-aspects; indeed, there are counter-arguments providing a different perspective.
i. On services, no town or city has ever developed without logistical problems. Indeed, one reason for the development of the LDP approach is to try and allow as early as possible the custodians of the public purse the ability to pre-plan service provision and to allow the private sector to make its own response to the proposed development (as with the placing of a new Aldi in Llay). In Wrexham, we are lucky to already possess, for example, a purpose-built Secondary School lying idle, whilst many of the proposed developments lie on the periphery of the urban space allowing service growth. The truth is that there will invariably be a service time-lag in some sectors, but as the points below explain, this doesn’t need to be long-term.
ii. It’s far too easy to play the game of evaluating Housing NEED in simple terms and whilst 3-4 bedroom proposals might seem at odds with perceived NEED at the bottom of the Housing ladder, studies of what actually happens in practice might help justify the current approach. The Housing ladder is so-named because individuals are constantly moving up and down it. The acquisition of 3-4 bedroom properties by aspiring folk, often with growing families size, invariably frees up Housing capacity on lower Housing rungs. This freeing up factor is vital and many of the Houses freed up will be starter homes or single/double occupancy units. There is no study evidence that a preponderance of the 3-4 bedroom properties will be bought up by ‘outsiders’ exclusively.
iii. Many simplistic evaluations neglect the fact that demand and supply forces dictate to a large extent Housing prices. Inflating Wrexham’s Housing stock by 10,000 units will at minimum provide a safety valve on the pricing system, possibly helping reducing prices over time. The truth is that Wrexham’s Housing market requires fresh stock input at all levels and without it we will consign the coming generation to look elsewhere for their needs over time.
iv. Simplistic evaluations ignore the direct knock-on effects of Housing growth. 10,000 Houses require an immense amount of building work to complete and Wrexham tradesmen ranging from Builders to Electricians, Plasterers to Kitchen fitters, Painters to Joiners, will be needed to produce the units involved. This is a huge bounty for the Wrexham workforce and a huge bounty for all of those existing commercial interests in the area that look to the sort of enhanced demand that this will produce.
v. Simplistic evaluations ignore the Multiplier and Accelerator effects of the House building program. The financial input to the area described in iv has been identified by various studies as akin to the Keynesian pump priming approach in that all individuals who derive an additional income courtesy of the building program are also consumers of local services and goods. The additional House dwellers plus the additional disposable income of the House building sector should be regarded as a plus for Wrexham.
vi. The House building game comes down to alternatives. There are some who suggest the priority should be the Social Housing sector, invariably state supported/financed. Fine. Unfortunately, the state of the public purse is such that this route is just not realistic, certainly not at present. Private sector development, on the other hand, is totally realistic. Developers are chomping at the bit to fulfil seemingly insatiable demand and the local Housing stock can be augmented rapidly and equitably. Only a fool or a charlatan would argue that the public sector can respond to Housing needs at this time. Yes, a start can be made, but without implementing the current proposals there will be a dire housing position for decades.
vii. One bi-product of Housing increases within the 3-4 bedroom type is augmented Rates for the local authority. With £2000+ being a typical Rate payment, the idea of adding 10,000 X £2,000 (£20,000,000) to the Wrexham authority’s coffers is very nice. Not only can this help attend to any Service shortfalls, scale financial incomings should be more than capable of alternative uses in the community. It’s interesting that some local politicians always ignore this aspect of Housing proposals.
viii. One argument used about 3-4 bedroom developments is that they attract Commuters rather than servicing local need. ii above part addresses this but it has to be said that no evidence is ever presented supporting the idea that Wrexham will suddenly become a magnet for people from distant areas. Additionally, what if it was the case? What if families did come here from across Wales, Britain, or the globe. Wrexham is a welcoming town that was so good as to welcome me in 1974 and these good folk will I’m sure become solid members of our local community in short time (even season ticket holders at Wrexham FC).
A very interesting & understandable viewpoint Alunh.
However the services required are NHS doctors, dentists, hospital, education, fire, police & ambulances. All of these services are already stretched to breaking point & something needs to be in place prior to the building of 1,000s of new houses.
Wrexham isn’t particularly short of supermarkets but we are short of frequent & affordable transport to reach them.
I know that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
