On another blog I will explain why Michael Gove’s ‘Long term plan for housing’ published on Monday will fail, despite some worthy initiatives. The gigantic cause is the lack of local support for large scale housing, Here is an unpublished letter I sent the following day to the editor of The Times on Tuesday (25th … Continue reading No local support = Undeliverable
Month: July 2023
Good news or false dawn?
Michael Gove’s major housing speech in London this morning alongside the new parallel housing observations by the Prime Minister release dual emotions, Joy and dismay. The return journey out of Alice in Wonderland’s never, never garden is starting. At last. This reversal (because Cambridge 2040 is the explicit clue, the rest us fluff) is welcome … Continue reading Good news or false dawn?
Cambridge 2040: foundations first
Michael Gove’s idea for tripling the size of Cambridge illustrates the need for a national strategic and spatial plan for England. The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) initiative lacks a wider context. Local experts whilst sympathetic say it cannot be delivered. The three previous posts (9, 11 and 14 July) address the muddled … Continue reading Cambridge 2040: foundations first
Cambridge: to grow, or not to grow?
Whilst not denying the Cambridge growth idea and recognising the need for a long term approach, the Minister’s response to the Cambridge leak is ambiguous. Perhaps tellingly, a plan to win local support is not mentioned. Matilda Battersby of Housing Today (14 July 2023) has another interesting article on responses to the plan, if it … Continue reading Cambridge: to grow, or not to grow?
Conservative confusion continues?
Angry response from the local Cambridge MP to the idea of massive growth. His blunt choice of words, based on toy opposition to a water supply deficit, matter. They stop growth and promote spatial chaos. In my last blog, two days ago I suggested Michael Gove’s thoughtful plans to build 250,000 new homes around Cambridge in … Continue reading Conservative confusion continues?
Britain’s new Silicon Valley: Cambridge + 250,000
A very good re-start of strategic thinking by the Conservatives; their first attempt since 2011. How will local support be achieved? The weakness? Where is the spatial growth thinking on which it relies? It is the first good news about the housing crisis from the Conservatives for a very long time. Harry Yorke , Deputy … Continue reading Britain’s new Silicon Valley: Cambridge + 250,000