Key tests for the King’s Speech

The King’s Speech on 17 July will set out the new Government’s law-making plans. CPRE Sussex has set seven tests to help judge whether the new Government’s programme will work for the countryside.

CPRE Sussex wants to see a King’s Speech which gives local authorities a big stake in building social housing while protecting the Sussex countryside and tackling climate change, ultimately the biggest threat for us all.

Paul Steedman, CPRE Sussex director, said: “There is a huge opportunity here for a win-win-win. Tackling housing costs, cutting carbon emissions and protecting nature are critical for the Sussex countryside’s future. But if the government gets it wrong with a growth-at-all-costs, developer-led, free-for-all, the results could be disastrous.”

The seven tests set out by CPRE Sussex ask if the policies set out in the speech will:

1. Deliver the housing we actually need in Sussex – genuinely affordable housing for rent for people on lower incomes, first time buyer homes and housing to attract older downsizers.
2. Create a bigger role for democratically-accountable local councils to direct where housing goes, build social housing themselves and capture the benefits of increased land values to pay for local infrastructure and services.
3. Focus housing development alongside new green jobs in the country’s less prosperous towns to ‘level up’ England’s economy and make use of brownfield sites while taking the development pressure off Sussex.
4. Focus new housing on existing towns to create ’15-minute neighbourhoods’ with shops, leisure and public services people can bus, walk, wheel or cycle to.
5. Tackle climate breakdown with a plan which includes ending airport expansion at Gatwick and reliance on fossil fuels while safeguarding nature and valued landscapes.
6. Clean up our rivers and seas, by cracking down on the causes of water company sewage spills and nature-unfriendly farming practices.
7. Accelerate protection for nature, with greater support for nature-friendly farming and more land and water safeguarded for wildlife.

Find out more about how CPRE Sussex is protecting, promoting and enhancing the countryside and green spaces at cpresussex.org.uk