How Will Overdevelopment Affect YOU?
Much positive "spin" has been given to the government's housing agenda, but will the very large-scale developments really lead to the vision of "prosperity and affordable housing for all" that they set out, or will there be some nasty side effects...?
If individual freedoms and quality of life matter to you, the list below gives a selection of how these will be compromised by overdeveloping the UK:
Water Shortages
There is a fixed amount of water to share between everyone: most water resources in the South are already overabstracted. Therefore increasing the number of households will reduce the amount of water that each can use. The result of this will be:
- Compulsory water meters with considerably higher water charges.
- Severe water restrictions during all periods of dry weather.
If you value the ability to a) take a shower whenever you want to, b) wash your car, c) water your garden or even d) regularly fill up a child's paddling pool, you need to be aware that overdevelopment will effectively take these freedoms away.
Road Congestion Charging
Highways Agency statistics show that virtually all major roads in the South are already exceeding their fundamental capacities. In addition, any planner will admit that in reality very little can now be done to further increase the capacity of the road network. Overdevelopment (which we are on the point of) will thus have the following effects on individuals:
- Expensive road congestion charging will become a necessity
- Travel times will become much, much longer
- People will be forced to either live near their workplace or to work from home
While we clearly need to persuade fewer people to use their cars, we believe that knowingly gridlocking the roads is not helpful, and will again lead to reductions in individual freedom.
Access to Services
Services such as education and healthcare, as well as sports facilities are essential to maintain a good quality of life. There is no doubt that service provision will not be increased in line with housing and population growth (there are no known plans to build new hospitals, for example, yet certain cities with already overstretched hospitals are set to increase in size by up to 30%). The results:
- Very long waiting times for hospital, doctor, and dental appointments (current waiting times will seem wonderful in comparison).
- Larger class sizes in schools (especially secondary schools).
- Increased competition for places in good schools.
- Overcrowding at tourist attractions on weekends and public holidays (eg. the New Forest)
Crime and Social Problems
It is a known fact that crime is centred around urban areas. Therefore, by building more urban settlements, crime rates will go up. In addition, the densities of the proposed developments are high (around 40 dwellings per hectare). High housing density has a strong tendency to lead to increased crime and anti-social behaviour. The results:
- More crime.
- A greater feeling of insecurity.
- More tax money needed to fund the extra policing.
There are or course many more side-effects of overdevelopment, but the net result is always the same: a few developers, land owners and bureaucrats get very rich while individuals have their quality of life irreversibly reduced.
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