Letter: Handing the Keys to our Green Belt to Developers Is Not the Answer

Published on: 24 Sep, 2025
Updated on: 24 Sep, 2025

From Sir Michael Aaronson

chair of the Normandy Action Group

In response to: It’s Not Nimbyism to Protect Our Green Spaces

Guildford’s former Conservative MP Angela Richardson is right that the current housing crisis will not be solved unless demand-side issues are addressed; it’s not just about building more homes, but about making it possible for those who need them most to buy or rent them.

And the charge of nimbyism that is levelled against those who want to preserve our precious countryside for future generations is just superficial, yah-boo, politics, which helps no-one.

Tempting though it may be for people to blame their political opponents for the mess we are in, there will not be a sustainable solution to the housing crisis until there is a cross-party consensus about the sometimes difficult decisions that will need to be taken to make sure everyone has a decent roof over their head.

Handing the keys to the green belt to the major housebuilders is not an intelligent policy, and will fix nothing.

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