Local MP Jeremy Browne has renewed his calls against excessive levels of development in Taunton Deane following discussions with residents alarmed at the potential impact on our community. He has previously campaigned on this issue, including collecting a petition with hundreds of signatures from Taunton Deane residents.

Jeremy Browne has tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for a "cross-party agreement to suspend imposed national and regional development targets and replace them with a sustainable model of house building which is proportionate in scale, fosters natural communities and respects the attractions of the countryside". He has also written to John Denham MP, the Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities, arguing for a new direction from central government.

The text of the House of Commons motion is:

Taunton Deane development

That this House opposes the targets for new housing building being imposed on Taunton Deane by central government; regards them as unrealistic in the current economic climate; further regards them as undesirable due to their adverse impact on rural Somerset, including the 'green wedges' that bring the countryside into central Taunton; believes that excessive development will put undue pressure on road networks and key local public services; regrets the invidious position that councillors from all political parties are put in by being legally forced to identify land for development even when they have legitimate concerns about its suitability; emphatically recognises the need for practical levels of new development, especially of affordable housing, but wishes this growth to be organic rather than based on top-down targets and sensitive to the requirements of Taunton Deane as identified by the people who live in and represent the area; and urges cross-party agreement to suspend imposed national and regional development targets and replace them with a sustainable model of house building which is proportionate in scale, fosters natural communities and respects the attractions of the countryside.