• REGARDING the deselection of Labour councillors, it is clear these democratically-elected representatives have been seeking to protect the interests of their electorate from the impacts of the council’s land deals and Community Investment Programme development.

It is very sad they are being prevented from carrying out these duties and I hope that they, or others inspired by them, will stand as independent candidates in next May’s elections to continue this effort.

Camden’s Local Plan includes an objective for “growth”, without examining in any detail what sort of growth might be beneficial for our borough.

In this post-carbon world it is clear that we cannot continue with these outdated notions of unlimited growth if we are to retain a liveable planet. We need to move to a steady-state economy and limit development. Anything else is suicidal.

The plan makes it clear the council is committed to promoting growth for the benefit of the economy and to deliver new homes. It says the population of Camden is due to grow by 2,000 a year and proposes that housing is built to meet this need.

As Camden is located in the inner area of a capital city it is inevitable that people will continue to move into the area. Is it reasonable to propose that we continue to plan for ever increasing numbers without considering what is right for residents of the borough or the planet?

Housing targets set by the London mayor are based on information provided by Camden planners about the “capacity” for more homes, much of which is predicated on high-rise.

As a result high-rise is baked into planning policy. We need more councillors to question if this is the right approach.

SUE SHEPHERD
Savernake Road, NW3