Reposted with the kind permission of the author – Juliet Hawker – just one of the many letters being sent daily to Alicia Kearns MP. We will ask permission to publish the reply and hope that it won’t be another ‘I can’t get involved in planning matters’ proforma response…

Dear Ms Kearns,

I know the local government is having to comply with the old ruling for redundant MOD land, that is to build housing however inappropriate this is. Housing on this site will mean all services in our essentially rural community will be too stretched by this, perhaps, 20% increase in the Counties population. It would be a ‘dormitory town’ with commuting traffic on the lanes around it. Some of these lanes are rare with mature, beautiful trees planted along the edges particularly around Lyndon and Pilton, a small area still relatively unspoilt.
I know that local government is trying to control the number of houses so it is as low as possible, (even so they are still always keen to gather some income through Council Tax) – but this is not good enough. More people, more services needed too, – more carparks required in local towns, more waste to dispose of, more schooling, healthcare, care of elderly costs, resulting in more buildings, schools, hospitals, care homes etc. etc. you know better than me, it is a constant roundabout. Can you not persuade the minister that this sort of out of town house building is irresponsible, short sighted and out dated?

There will soon be some space in the centre of towns for housing anyway. The Conservative government is giving out cheap money right, left and centre, please persuade them to change the outdated ruling and give money to the MOD, so they do not have to make money from this land! You can do it!!
I have known Rutland since the 1960s and there has been almost constant building of new housing estates, (each one in turn getting more cramped and unattractive), so I believe we have done our bit to provide for an increasing population. The increase in population has been largely due to immigration elsewhere. Now immigration is slowing we should think again. Southern and Midland England has some of the most beautiful green and wooded countryside in the world but there is too little of it left. When I was a child we would walk to school along lanes with verges of wild flowers and wildlife, even hedgehogs. Our countryside used to be so beautiful but Rutland now has a lot of high intensity arable farming, often growing crops for export. We need to bring back more market gardens providing local grown vegetables and also create more managed woodland for people to appreciate what we have nearly lost. This will not be the last pandemic, green spaces are important.

This old MOD land, close to Rutland Water, would be ideal for this and it would improve our quality of life and health. Virtually all local people, (everyone not involved in house building companies), would be very thankful to those who stopped another unnecessary desecration.

Please stop it.