The Development & Planning Authority faced a backlash last year when it proposed re-zoning several green fields for housing, while some States members have called for a relaxation of restrictions on developing disused horticultural land.
Neil Inder pledged to be a champion of environmental protection, as he was elected as the new president of the DPA.
‘Our green fields and vineries are not expendable,’ he said.
‘A field lost to housing is lost forever. Whether they’re in the Vale, St Sampson’s or the south of the island, all fields matter to Guernsey’s landscape and identity.
‘Our green fields, hedgerows and coastlines are not just scenery. They are part of what this island is. Planning decisions must ensure that growth never undermines those values.’
However, he also said that under his leadership the authority would ‘assist, not hinder’ new housing which the island needed to satisfy growing demand.
The previous States agreed in 2023 that approximately 1,500 new homes were needed by the end of 2027, divided between private developments and social housing.
But only a small percentage of that figure has been built and politicians have conceded that they will get nowhere near meeting the identified need in the next two years.
Deputy Inder has been one of the most vocal critics of the States’ performance on housing in recent years.
He said he did not anticipate the completion of all the sites near the Vale/St Sampson’s border which are currently earmarked for hundreds of homes, but wanted at least some developed in the current political term.
‘There are parts of the north of the island which need regeneration and I’d rather see homes there than fields of pampas grass,’ he said.
‘The DPA needs to help housing. We need to get stuff out of the ground as quickly as possible. We don’t have long. We are four months into a four-year term. You watch time run out within the next 18 months.’
In recent years, some politicians and developers have blamed the slow rate of housebuilding on planning policy GP11, which required developments of 20 units or more to include a percentage of social or affordable housing, until deputies agreed last year to suspend it until 2029.
Deputy Inder’s committee will need to advise the Assembly whether to re-introduce, modify or permanently scrap GP11.
‘When I voted for the removal of GP11, I said I wanted to call the developers’ bluff,’ he said.
‘I don’t particularly believe in what used to be called pepper-potting – mixed development with social and private housing. Right now, personally, I’m unlikely to say re-implement GP11 as it was previously.
‘But the challenge is still there. We were told by the private sector that GP11 was the biggest barrier to building. I’m happy to stand corrected, but I haven’t seen a lot of activity in that area since we got rid of it.’
He said he wanted to speed up planning decisions but not at the cost of the environment and that the authority could be ‘both fairer and faster’.
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