Maria Miller is a hardworking MP. I have defended her publicly when she has been unfairly criticised. However, her latest MP Column in the Gazette, along with Cllr Stephen Reid’s recent statement to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, are at best disingenuous and misleading.

As a founder of SOLVE, a previous Tory vice-chair and elected councillor, I have watched from near and far how Basingstoke Conservatives manipulated and obfuscated the planning process to promote their own electoral interests. For example, both Maria and Stephen deliberately ignore the fact that the only reason Basingstoke has built 6.000 homes in the last five years, 1,750 more than required by the 850 annual target in their own Local Plan, is because the local Tory Administration deliberately and surreptitiously failed to develop Manydown.

The majority of those homes were built on appeal on speculative sites because The Tories did not have a five-year housing supply. Basingstoke, under their leadership, practised ‘Planning by Appeal, not by design’!

Another example is Stephen Reid’s false statement that the Conservative Government has removed housing targets from its new planning reforms. That is just not true. They new policy states the Government will, and I quote "retain an expectation that the ‘standard method’ for calculating local housing needs will be used” and “remove the requirement for local authorities (as long as there is) an up to date local plan to maintain a four-year housing supply.”

Maria’s and Stephen’s attempts to undermine The Independent led council’s latest four year Strategic Plan will only facilitate more of the record house building numbers delivered under the previous Tory administration. Not less!

Once again, the local Tory Leadership are ‘putting party before people’. They are electioneering. Don’t be misled.

Clive Pinder 

Templeton 

California 

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