Tory Localism Fundamental Flaw Number Four – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism sees no need for strategic thinking. At the moment, there is copious media coverage of this failing in their plans for the NHS. However, sticking to the Localism agenda, I will focus on Forward Planning. By this term I mean the process by which new development of the built environment is zoned through the allocation of land, in a timescale of up-to-twenty years.

Localism sees no need for a regional, or even county-wide, perspective. Every council, be it a Birmingham or a Wyre Forest, is free to plan its own developments, irrespective of the wider picture, hence the Tories’ abolition of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy. Among the policies discarded is that which sought to regenerate housing supply within the Black Country. Its aim was to stem the outward flow of population, creating more sustainable communities in which people would live and work, and relieving pressure on the surrounding shire counties. Now, alas, without the mechanism to co-operate, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, South Staffordshire, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest etc, etc, will be more likely to take an insular view, required to look no further than their own immediate circumstances.

Repeat the Housing scenario over the whole field of Forward Planning, including, for example, Industry & Commerce, Transport and Retail, and the fourth fundamental flaw of Tory Localism becomes clear; no coherent long-term strategy for planning the future.

Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism Fundamental Flaw Number Three – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism Fundamental Flaws One & Two – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

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