The FT reports that large areas of South Downs National Park are set to be developed into new towns in order to meet Boris Johnson’s housebuilding targets of 300,000 a year, with a new formula to determine how these are distributed and an overhaul of planning laws to make it easier for developers to overcome opposition

The paper suggests that the Conservatives’ recent defeat in the Chesham and Amersham by-election is partly in response.

James MacCleary, leader of the district council in the East Sussex County town of Lewes commented: “Concerns over the government’s attitude to rural areas and the protection of the countryside played a key role in that election. It’s obviously a warning shot for other Conservative seats.”

The article notes that the concentration of proposed new housing in the relatively prosperous south-east of the country, according to official statistics, raises issues for the government’s “levelling-up” programme for the north and midlands.

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The FT - Battles loom as housing developers eye rural England
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