THE weather seems to be improving, and the clocks will shortly be clicking forward an hour allowing us all to enjoy more time outside in the beautiful countryside across West Worcestershire.
The magnificent Malvern Hills are one of our prized natural assets and many readers will be aware of the Malvern Hills Bill, which seeks to reform how the landscape is governed.
To learn more about the Bill, I met with the Trust several times and with Lord Faulkner of Worcester, who is overseeing its initial consideration in the House of Lords.
Around fifty petitions about the Bill have been lodged, and this demonstrates to me how passionately local people feel about our precious hills.
There is still a long way to go before the legislation reaches the House of Commons, but I will be sure to monitor its progress closely.
Over the last decade we’ve had high levels of housebuilding and some of our larger villages have seen a lot of new construction.
We do need new homes including extra care housing, social housing and supported living accommodation but the essential tenet is that we need the right homes, built in the right places.
A refreshed local plan – the South Worcestershire Development Plan is currently being assessed to try and make sure that we aren’t exposed to more speculative planning applications.
However, the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner has seen fit to double the South Worcestershire housebuilding target without proposing how she will expand infrastructure, meanwhile ridiculously cutting the London target.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is now in the Commons and I will certainly oppose this reckless legislation which reduces the input from local people.
And we have an Environment Secretary who wants to allow solar farms and pylons to scar our natural landscape.
New housebuilding needs to come with new schools, new GP surgeries and new infrastructure and it’s essential that Government Ministers respect that we have a highly precious rural landscape that makes our area one of the best places to live and bring up a family.
Wherever you look, the Government simply doesn’t get the countryside or our rural way of life. The Chancellor’s Inheritance Tax raid still looms over family farms, and I recently met with local young farmers to reiterate my support for them.
Farmers work hard to put food on our tables and play a crucial role in the West Worcestershire economy. My concern is that this policy will damage food security, hit jobs and growth and increase food prices.
At a debate in Westminster Hall, I highlighted the plight of constituents who have struggled to heat their homes this winter. Under the last Government, 27,000 pensioners in West
Worcestershire received the Winter Fuel Payment and we protected pensioners’ incomes with the Triple Lock.
And with Ofgem’s announcement of higher energy prices, the Chancellor’s means testing of the Winter Fuel Payment risks plunging millions into fuel poverty and putting more pressure on our NHS and charities.
Dame Harriett Baldwin
MP for West Worcestershire
