Government housing targets will have ‘really grim’ effect on the environment, says Highcliffe and Walkford councillor Andy Martin at BCP Cabinet meeting on Local Plan

Government mandatory housing targets could have a “really grim” effect on the environment, a Highcliffe councillor has warned.

BCP Council has been tasked to build 3,000 homes a year – 45,000 over 15 years – with 22,000 of them being affordable.

The target led one councillor to complain at a BCP Cabinet meeting that the only way to meet it was to have high-rise blocks of up to 30 storeys, adding “We’re going to end up like parts of Hong Kong and we’re going to lose our entire greenbelt.”

His comments were echoed by Highcliffe and Walkford’s Cllr Andy Martin who said: “The effects of the Labour government's targets are going to be really, really grim.”

He added: “We live in an amazing area and clearly that is going to be under threat from the sledgehammer, blunt approach by the Labour government.

“They never talk about the environment, it's like the environment doesn't really matter, and that's obviously hugely worrying.”

The cabinet was discussing the fact its new Local Plan has been thrown out by planning inspectors, and must start a new draft.

BCP revealed it was still 16,000 short of the government housing targets and was looking at building the homes on land in areas of Dorset and New Forest District councils.

But planning inspectorate officers Helen Hockenhull and Thomas Hatfield found that BCP Council had failed to fully engage with either council about the matter.

The inspectors revealed that in June 2024 BCP sent a letter to Dorset Council and NFDC formally asking if the respective authorities could meet any of BCP’s need.

As the inspectors noted: “This was two weeks before the submission of the plan for examination. Both councils’ responses were received after 27th June 2024, the plan submission date. “

The local plan sets out detailed planning policies which will guide decision making on all future developments in the BCP area including Christchurch.

Keir Starmer’s government issued new national planning rules in December which told councils they had to provide a new amount of housing stock – even if it meant building on greenbelt land.

At the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it voted to withdraw the existing Local Plan and start work on another.

Cllr Martin said it was important that the measures put in place to protect the environment were carried over to the new one: “This country is one of the most depleted in the world and clearly if the Labour government has its way it is going to become even more nature depleted.”

He also echoed another councillor who said there should be a way of ensuring new housing stock does not become second homes or Airbnbs.

Referring to a planning application for 23 luxury flats on Highcliffe clifftop Cllr Martin said: “These are all going to end up as second homes, and we already have dozens and dozens of second homes.

“That’s a symptom of a planning system that’s completely wrong, and the government’s policies are going to do nothing to solve that.”

Cllr Richard Burton said his community “understands the idea well” that housing is needed for local people: “There’s not housing available.

“However, there is a lot of concern, a lot of worry, because the [site of special scientific interest] is getting a huge amount of pressure because of the amount of population surrounding it.

“We have greenbelt, which is now under pressure, my residents are actually quite scared about what might happen, in fact they feel they are being bullied – bullied to accept things that they don’t want to accept.”