Date: 13/11/2008
The East Midlands Regional Assembly has told High Peak Borough Council that 308 new homes a year must be built in High Peak over the next 18 years. This plan excludes the Peak National Park and any homes built there are not included in this figure.
The Council is strongly opposed to any increase in housing in High Peak, which will be extremely difficult to accommodate, but have to comply with national and regional policy that is demanded of us.
Linda Baldry, Executive Councillor for Planning, confirmed that the Council had raised strong objections to the Regional Plan that would result in 5,500 additional homes in the Borough, that would add up to a town the size of Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith together.
Councillor Baldry said: "No sooner have we been given a new figure for the period up to 2026, then the East Midlands Regional Assembly announced a review looking ahead to 2031. This could mean even more housing potentially compromising the character of the High Peak that residents and visitors value so highly."
She added: "Changes in the Regional Plan mean that the Council is being forced to review its current policy of housing restraint in the Glossopdale and Central areas of the Borough so that we can respond to these externally set targets."