By Paul Homewood
Why does Roger Harrabin hate ordinary British people so much?
Housing developments on former farmland are adding hundreds of thousands of extra car journeys to England’s roads, a report has found.
It says typical new ‘greenfield’ homes are designed around the car – with often three parking spaces per home.
Essential services such as shops, schools and doctors are often almost impossible to reach on foot or by bike.
The government planning department welcomed the report, agreeing new housing should depend less on cars.
The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said last year: “Public transport and active travel (walking and cycling) will be the natural first choice for daily activities.
"We will use our cars less."
But the report from Transport for New Homes – backed by the RAC Foundation – says car dependency is actually getting worse.
Its researchers conducted field visits to 20 new housing developments across England – three years after a previous survey around the country.
They found that greenfield housing has become even more car-based than before. They say the trend for building with the car in mind extended beyond housing, with out-of-town retail, leisure, food outlets and employment orientated around new road systems.
They found that planners and construction firms are building in a style they refer to as ‘car-park to car-park’.
Jenny Raggett from Transport for New Homes, said: “We can’t go on as we have been, building many hundreds of thousands of new homes in places which are not only impossible to serve with sustainable transport, but actually promote more and more travel by car.
“At a time of climate emergency and with a need to cut congestion on our roads, this is not the way we should be building for the future. We have to do things differently.
“Small shops, cafes and businesses built for local living are just not there in most new greenfield estates. Local parks, community halls, playing fields and other amenities that would take people away from looking at their screens and encourage them to get out and walk or cycle, appear often not to have materialised.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60245980
Whenever you see mention of “climate emergency”, you know this is not a serious report, but just another bit of eco-extremist nonsense.
How dare people want to have the freedom to drive where they want, when they want!
But Harrabin would much rather the plebs had to live in big towns and cities where they have to use public transport. And if you have the nerve to buy a house in the countryside, don’t expect access to shops, restaurants and leisure facilities. And forget about getting a decent job further afield.
This was exactly how our forefathers used to live before widespread car ownership liberated us.
Of course, to the Harrabins of the world, who live in the leafy splendour of Hampstead, it is easy to get around town by tube or taxi. To most people outside London, ownership of a car is essential to their lifestyles.
Last time I checked, we still lived in a democracy. The public has never been consulted on any of this eco-nonsense being rammed down our throats, and I’m pretty sure what their reaction would be if they were.
So why are eco-nutters like Transport for New Homes allowed to influence public policy, and why is the BBC giving them so much prominence?
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February 7, 2022 at 04:57AM
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