The self-styled “Alliance for Wealden” has descended into political chaos. The recent release of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has only added fuel to the fire. Overdevelopment was a central issue in the 2023 District Council elections, and it continues to be a pressing concern for many residents today. Despite this, the Alliance seems intent on forging ahead with its housing plans, even as they contradict their previous promises and fail to serve the best interests of the District.
The Green Party’s Broken Promise: AONB
The Green Party, which made bold promises to “prevent housing on the High Weald AONB” (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), has completely reversed course. During the election, they swore to protect these areas from development, yet the Alliance has now allocated hundreds of homes within the AONB. Councillor Ian Tysh, Cabinet member for Planning and Environment, previously stated that an “embargo on building in the AONB” would be “reckless.” Now, the same party is in charge of making decisions that directly contravene this commitment. If that’s not reckless, it’s certainly contradictory. The Alliance’s actions are like saying you’re on a diet while eating an entire cake—completely opposite to the intended goal, yet somehow part of the same plan. This inconsistency reveals a deeper issue: a lack of coherent policy and a failure to live up to the promises made to residents who trusted them.
Labour’s Desperate Alliance: Power at Any Cost
The most worrying development is the full endorsement of this unstable Alliance by the Labour Party. Councillors Ben Cox (who failed in his bid to become an MP earlier in the year) and Daniel Manvell, along with the Green and Liberal Democrat factions, are now in the same bed—despite their wildly different political platforms. What’s clear is that this is less about governing for the people of Wealden and more about maintaining power at any cost. Councillor Manvell is the youngest cabinet member ever appointed in Wealden, and his lack of professional experience only highlights the diminishing standards within the Alliance. As the new Cabinet member for Housing, Benefits, and Revenues, he faces the impossible task of pushing policies that contradict both the needs of Wealden and Labour’s own national stance. It’s like putting someone who’s never driven before in charge of driving a bus: the results are bound to be disastrous.
Manvell and his Labour sidekick seem entirely uninterested in challenging Labour’s national housing policies, even as they continue to mismanage housing developments in Wealden. Instead, they’ve willingly signed up to an Alliance that is actively pushing forward with policies that the majority of residents simply don’t want— more unsuitable overdevelopment, and fewer guarantees of adequate infrastructure. The priority here is not what’s best for Wealden, but rather keeping the Alliance together with backroom deals, regardless of what that means for local communities.
The Alliance’s Confusion Over Housing Numbers: More Housing, Not What We Need
If the Alliance’s confused stance on the AONB wasn’t enough, their handling of housing numbers is equally troubling. Councillor Ben Cox, who seems to have mistaken a Local Plan for a wish list, was quoted last week saying: “I’m actually quite happy that we’re now looking at having a Local Plan that can take on the houses that the Government are saying.” He went on to say that the Local Plan “had allocated the right amount of houses that will hit the Government target.” These statements are not just misleading—they’re completely untrue. Wealden’s Local Plan does not meet the government’s housing targets, and a quick glance at the numbers should make that abundantly clear. But why let a pesky thing like facts get in the way when you’re busy parroting party lines?
What’s more frustrating is that the housing targets being set by the government are not just unpopular—they’re damaging. The residents of Wealden are not asking for more unsuitable housing; I’m sure many would prefer fewer homes being shoehorned into an already overstretched and crumbling infrastructure. Homes that we all know are not being sold (principally) to private buyers. These housing targets, pushed forward by a government that doesn’t understand the local context, are exactly what Wealden doesn’t need. Yet, the Alliance—under the leadership of Councillors who should know better—continues to distract from these politically motivated targets rather than considering what’s right for their constituents.
The Alliance’s Inconsistent Commitment to Social Housing “At Scale”
One of the most eyebrow-raising statements from the Alliance came from Councillors Rachel Millward and James Partridge, who expressed a desire to build social housing “at scale.” While this sounds like a noble goal on paper, the reality is that Wealden simply doesn’t have the space or funding for such an ambitious scheme. It’s a bit like saying you want to buy a yacht, but you’re still living in a one-bedroom flat—you can talk about it all day, but unless you’ve got the resources to back it up, it’s nothing more than a pipe dream. The Alliance’s plan to build vast numbers of social homes, at scale, is not only unrealistic, but it also underscores their detachment from the practicalities of local government. There’s no clear indication of where these homes would go, how they’d be funded, or even who would build them, yet they continue to push forward with these empty promises. This kind of political posturing only serves to further frustrate residents, who are left wondering if the Alliance really understands the scope of what they’re promising. Are they really advocating large isolated Council estates in the Wealden countryside? A favella in Horam and a township in Eridge?
The Alliance’s Desperation to Hold On to Power
The most worrying element of all this is the Alliance’s singular focus on maintaining political power. As their policies unravel and contradictions multiply, the Alliance seems intent on holding on to control “whatever the cost to residents.” The Green Party, Labour, and Liberal Democrats have banded together, not out of a shared vision for Wealden, but because they are terrified of losing their seats and fading back into irrelevance. This is less about governing for the benefit of the people, and more about ensuring political survival, no matter how much it damages the District.
The Alliance’s need to stay in power is so desperate that they are willing to ignore the very concerns that led people to vote for them in the first place. Appropriately sited housing, infrastructure, and environmental protection —issues that should be at the heart of any local plan— are being sacrificed in the name of political expediency. The real question is: can this coalition really deliver anything of value, or are they simply too focused on keeping the ship afloat? Meanwhile, they continue to waste taxpayer money on schemes and initiatives well beyond the statutory duties of the Council. See this article for more on that.
Wealden’s Residents Are the Real Losers
As the government’s housing targets continue to loom over Wealden, one thing is clear: the residents are the real losers in all of this. The Alliance’s unprincipled pursuit of power is only matched by their inability to deliver on the promises they made during the election. Whether it’s the Green Party abandoning its commitment to the AONB, Labour failing to challenge its own government’s disastrous housing targets, or the Liberal Democrats taking a back seat and leaving the real decisions to others, Wealden is being left to fend for itself.
What Wealden needs now is leadership—leadership that listens to residents, considers the long-term implications of development, and makes decisions that prioritise the wellbeing of the District over party political gain. Unfortunately, the Alliance for Wealden seems determined to give them the opposite.
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