My letter on housing published in this week’s Thanet Extra under the header People come before profit.
The full text reads:
Before 2,500 new houses are built, we need to ask some vital questions [Thanet District Council recommends the Local Plan should not include 2,500 homes at Manston Airport, Extra, July 4].
Everyone deserves a decent, secure home. There are people desperate for homes they can afford to buy or rent. There are also people rightly worried about the way house building will damage their environment.
The people of Thanet have never been asked about the kind of housing they need and can afford. A couple of years ago, Thanet District Council (TDC) commissioned a report on how much housing should be built, but it failed to consult us.
By contrast, the Labour Party across Thanet will be asking everyone about the kind of homes that should be built to suit us, our children and our elderly parents. That way, we can try to make sure that future housing developments meet local need and affordability.
Recently, TDC allowed two developers to wriggle out of their commitment to build affordable housing. We must not allow property developers to put profit before people. We need to hold the council to its commitment to build more social housing.
Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt, Labour parliamentary candidate for South Thanet
