‘It’s not just the nimbys you need to worry about, prime minister’

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. Further to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s exclusive column on how he will ‘turbocharge’ building and cut through red tape to solve Britain’s. housing crisis (Metro, Thu). I don’t think it’s a question of the nimbys hating you, Mr Starmer, as you seem to think. Maybe they are scared and simply do not trust this Labour government when it comes to the environment.

Yes, you’re right, we do need new homes. It is a right not a privilege and needs to be afforded to all. But we ignore nature and the environment at our peril. I am 71 years old and in the 1970s, 80s and the 90s, I also had two jobs so I could get on the property ladder. What does concern people is counties such as Essex being one concrete mess. As we speak, the whole infrastructure is crumbling and cannot cope.

Without being rude, Labour need to go one step faster in addressing those who are fit yet unemployed, with a view to training these people to assist with the project. Please Mr Starmer and friends, don’t forget open space and greenery is equally important, too. I wish you well. Trevor Adams, East Ham. ‘No one has the courage to take on the big wealthy landowners’. It is important that objections to building schemes raised by local people.

are addressed seriously and not ridden over roughshod. There are already sufficient planning approvals to solve the housing shortage but developers like to sit on them to keep land values as high as possible. What I can see no mention of plans to stop ‘land banking’. As ever, no one has the courage to take on the big, wealthy landowners who will no doubt continue to profit from making sure housing availability is lower than housing need in order to keep prices high.

And what about sustainability? What arrangements are there for protecting. wildlife and our natural environment?. We need to remember it is a mistake to assume that everyone wants to own a property. Many people want to live in rented properties that are owned and managed by the council, not by housing associations and certainly not by private landlords. Where is the mention of council housing, of increased funds for councils.

to build houses with? Lastly, Sir Keir’s article is riddled with cliches like ‘builders not the blockers’ and ‘nimbys and naysayers’. The public, and their opinions, deserve to be treated with greater respect than this. Chris, Stockport. ‘He says this programme will deliver homes with good access to nature.’. The prime minister says he wants to change the ‘bonkers system’ that protects bats and newts in order to launch a huge building programme.

This programme, he says, will deliver homes ‘with good access to green space and nature’. Just as long as nature knows its place and doesn’t get in the way of grandiose plans and profit. Joan Waterson, Barnet. ‘Despite the climate emergency, they insist we can have business as usual.‘. The PM has chosen to follow his chancellor Rachel Reeves’ contemptuous. and contemptible remarks in respect of wildlife with his own dismissal of bats and newts – both protected species. So much for Labour’s pre-election commitment to green issues.

Mainstream politicians just don’t get it. We in the UK are miserably impoverished in both numbers and diversity of wildlife compared with the rest of Europe, and yet they threaten to ride roughshod over what protection exists for wildlife. Despite the climate emergency, they insist we can have business as usual. Their emphasis on growth is insane in view of what climate scientists have been telling us for years.

Our own future is inescapably tied to nature. The only party that recognises the seriousness and urgency of our situation is the Green Party. A Bayes, High Barnet. There’s still time to add your questions to those already sent in by Metro readers for
Sir Keir to answer about his plans this week. Email mail@ukmetro.co.uk or text
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