Councillors Forces Angela Rayner to Do What She Has Been Trying to Avoid All This While

Councillors in Swale are asking Angela Rayner, the Housing Minister, to visit the areas she has chosen for building thousands of new homes. They want her to see the sites herself before deciding if building there is a good idea. This comes before a public inquiry into the Highsted Park development near Sittingbourne and Teynham, which starts on March 11.

Ms. Rayner announced plans for 8,400 new homes just before Swale Council’s planning committee was about to reject the proposal. The new housing estate would stretch from the edge of Sittingbourne into Teynham and is split into two parts.

The first part includes a community space, a hotel, a recycling center, and schools. The second part, called Teynham West, would have 1,250 homes, care facilities, and a primary school.

On January 29, local councillors asked Swale Council to invite Ms. Rayner to visit the area and see the potential impact of her decision. Councillor Julien Speed, who made the request, said that reading reports doesn’t show what the area is really like. He described Highsted Park as a large development, similar in size to the town of Faversham, and said it’s a key test for the government’s housing goals.

Cllr Speed also criticized the government for taking control away from the local council by calling for a public inquiry. This follows Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years. However, Ms. Rayner recently said this number would only slightly help the UK’s housing shortage.