 Consultation on the South East Plan finishes in just over two weeks |
A plan that could see up to 32,000 homes being built across the South East every year until 2026 is being discussed at a public meeting in Kent. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is staging Wednesday evening's event so people in the county can have their say on the South East Plan.
Consultation on the proposals, drawn up by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA), ends on 15 April.
The meeting takes place at the Corn Exchange in Maidstone.
The CPRE says the South East Plan will be "hugely influential to Kent's future" and could shape house building, infrastructure provision and environmental protection until 2026.
'Right homes'
Dr Hilary Newport, director of CPRE Kent, thinks it is important for people to have their say.
"There is certainly an awful lot of pressure to pack in as many houses as possible into the South East, or so it seems," she said.
"What we are concerned about is really that this plan seems to be seeking to just pack in more jobs and more people, without any real interest being taken in the impact of that on our environment."
Dr Newport agrees there is a need for more homes but hopes they will be planned properly.
"At the moment we are just packing in more homes into more very ordinary housing estates without raising the level of infrastructure... and that simply cannot be allowed to continue."
Joining Dr Newport as speakers at the meeting are Paul Bevan, SEERA's chief executive, and Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, leader of Kent County Council.
The finished plan is due to be submitted for Government approval in October 2005.
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