Failure to uphold the Eden Local Plan

The council leader when questioned said she is “not looking to enforce the Councils Local plan” 👀🤷‍♂️

We are all aware of housing developments landing in communities across Eden that not only fail to see local infrastructure developments to cope with the increased housing but also a total lack of community integration development as part of developments.

The Eden local plan 2014 - 2032 should be the blueprint the council deliver its planning approval against.

Things like number of new houses in areas the development of wider infrastructure and community building plans in areas before any new housing developments are approved.

The refusal of works that would impact or prevent the reopening of railway lines or prevent transport infrastructure delivery.

This local plan was adopted by the council in 2018.

Since 2019 we have seen failure after failure by Eden council in upholding and delivery against the Eden local plan.

Communities classed as suitable for small scale infill building only 2 or 3 houses are instead having large scale housing developments land on the communities with a lack of infrastructure and community facilities already available to many the dvlocal elopement not only fail to deliver any improved infrastructure or community facilities it further add to the strain on resources of the communities.

On the 14th of September at the Eden Council Executive meeting I questioned the leader of the council on multiple failures by Eden Council since May 2019 to operate using and upholding the Eden local plan.

The leader of Eden Council responded to the question saying she is “not looking to enforce the Councils Local plan” 👀🤷‍♂️

The failure to deliver planning against the Eden Local plan means the area is now a free for all with Developments not only landing on areas unable to facilitate the additional housing due to no infrastructure and community resources but also in areas the local plan has identified a set number of housecan be built the council is ignoring these set levels of developments allowing applications by developers for housing developments far in excess of the numbers allocated as capacity will allow in the Eden local plan.

Right now in Penrith a developer has in an application that before is 22% above the number of houses for a site in Carlton allocated within the Eden Local Plan for 86 houses, the application is for 105 houses on the site.

The failure to deliver wider infrastructure and community building plans and uphold the approved and adopted Eden Local Plan. 

Yet the current Eden Council administration alongside the wider failures of the council planning department around application processing and failures of enforcement are unacceptable and should be independently investigated and action taken.

I fully accept and support th the need to delivery of new homes in the area the local housing needs report identified the need in Eden for 5000 news home over the next few years.

But we need homes delivered against a wider plan of infrastructure and community building.

A plan that delivers housing to meet the needs of the area not just market value big houses but low cost and affordable homes that meet the needs and can adapt over time to the needs of those living in them.

The current leadership of Eden Council is totally incompetent and failing Eden and it’s residents at every level of its service delivery.

The leader of Eden council should for once do the right thing and put the people of the area first and resign as leader of the council.