Lib Dem leader Ed Davey addresses water pollution and housing in Bramhall visit
Sir Ed Davey discussed housing and water pollution in a visit to Bramhall today (Friday 15 March)
The Lib Dem leader talked of the need for a 'comprehensive approach' in reducing damage to waterways, and the importance of a 'community-led' strategy when it came to housing developments.
Mr Davey appeared at Carr Brook alongside volunteers from Friends of Carr Wood, as well as Cllr Tom Morrison - Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Cheadle - and local ward councillors Jeremy Meal and Alex Wynne.
The visit comes not long after Mr Davey criticised what he perceived as "polluting water firms [who] are laughing all the way to the bank".
Indeed, water pollution was the foremost focus of Mr Davey's visit in this instance also.
Water companies, however, are not the only source of pollution. Recent Environment Agency data has suggested that more pollution to Britain's rivers and lakes in fact comes from farming run-off, compared with untreated wastewater (40% and 36% contribution respectively).
Addressing this, the Lib Dem leader told Nub News: "We need a comprehensive approach. [...] You've got to look at every single aspect.
"Different water courseways will have different pollution causes - so it's not one size fits all."
He added: "Yes, we need to make sure the water companies are paying, but we also need to make sure local authorities pay [...] and all other people, including the agricultural sector.
"If you talk to farmers, they're really up for it. They want to make sure there is proper drainage, so the run-off into rivers isn't there.
"But, we've got to get serious about it, and move quickly."
Speaking on the same issue, Ned Hammond - head of the think tank Onward - told The Times: "England's farmers are polluting our environment, but they cannot afford to go green.
"Nature-friendly farm subsidies can put farming back on a sustainable footing. But too few farmers are enrolling in the schemes because they aren't generous or simple enough."
On Housing
Mr Davey also addressed housing in his visit to the Cheadle constituency.
He suggested that residents should have more say in housing developments nearby, and that they should be built with more infrastructure in mind; in other words, that new developments should also account for the potential strain on GPs, school places and traffic in the vicinity.
"I don't like it when people are criticised for objecting to development", he said. "They've got every right to. One has got to think more carefully about how you overcome those objections and take people with you."
He added: "[The Lib Dems] believe in what I call a 'community-led' approach to planning and housing, as opposed to a developer approach.
"Far too often, you see developers coming in and saying 'this is what we're going to build, take it or leave it'.
"Then, there is usually an argument, and you still end up with the wrong houses in the wrong places that don't meet local need. [...]
"Where neighbourhood planning has been allowed, local communities [...] have been supported to produce what they are happy with.
"When you look at those neighbourhood plan approaches, you tend to find that homes are built in places where people are happy for them to be built [...]. They've also been more affordable, and better designed."
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