The new development framework - an attempt to revive dying settlements.

I attended Thursday evening's workshop on the Babergh Development Framework in Bildeston because I am unable to go to the one in Acton on 3rd November owing to a prior engagement.

The Bildeston event was attended largely by people from villages, rather than from the market towns, which made a difference to the conversation.

Away from the controversies with regard to the number of houses that Sudbury and Hadleigh are going to be obliged to accommodate, the main issue in the villages is whether or not some development is acceptable in order to keep communities alive and, yes, sustainable.

A succession of recent local plans have put a virtual veto on any development in those more remote places. They were not considered  to be 'core' settlements and only a very limited amount of building has been permitted.  The predictable result has been that pubs and shops have closed., bus routes have been discontinued and as small cottages have been extended, the villages have become the preserve of the better off.

Allowing a limited amount of new housing to meet the needs of younger people cannot, I fear, save the facilities that have been lost, but there will be two major benefits.  Firstly there is a chance that those brought up in the village may be able to find a home close to their families, and secondly, a house or two built in every settlement in Babergh would relieve some of  the very real  pressure on the urban fringe sites.