Building spree threatens countryside
7 March 2000
Building spree threatens countryside
By FWi staff
THOUSANDS of acres of agricultural land are expected to be lost following the government gave the go-ahead for 200,000 new houses in south-east England.
The claim was made after deputy prime minister John Prescott said that 43,000 houses must be built each year for the next five years.
Proposals would see many of the houses are expected to stretch east of London either side of the river Thames into north Kent and south-west Essex.
The government claims it has examined all possible alternatives and believes its plan is sensitive to the environment while meeting housing needs.
But the Council for the Protection of Rural England responded by claiming that the proposals threaten an area larger than the Isle of Wight.
More than 430km2 of countryside will be lost if the governments plans go ahead, said the organisation in a statement.
Shadow environment minister Archie Norman said that the government had fiddled the figures to conceal the damage being inflicted on the countryside.