Peter Roberts, Labour parliamentary spokesperson for North East Cambridgeshire, met with Caroline Flint MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning to discuss combating rural poverty in Fenland.

In August Mr Roberts wrote to the Minister expressing his concerns about low wages across the Fens and to arrange a meeting following the publication of the independent ‘Living Working Countryside’ report, commissioned by the Prime Minister.

Roberts expressed his support for the reports main proposals that include;

·       The need for planning rules to be more favourable to home-based businesses, in particular start up businesses, so that they may grow and take on their first employees.

·       Tightening rules on holiday home ownership in our smallest rural villages.

·       An end to planning rules and practices that encourage small rural businesses to move out of the countryside into urban centres as soon as they start to grow.

·       The lifting of Housing Association bans on people setting up home-based businesses in social and affordable homes.

·       Substantial changes to planning regulations to ensure affordable housing for low waged rural workers, as many local people are currently priced out of the communities in which they work.

·       Changing the way market towns develop to include more workplaces and community facilities.

During the meeting time was also taken to talk about how the delay in the start on the site of Nene Waterfront Regeneration (NWR) Project resulted in 43 affordable houses being transferred as far away as Godmanchester.

Caroline Flint MP said “I was pleased to meet with Peter to discuss the pockets of deprivation in North East Cambridgeshire and the findings of the ‘Living Working Countryside’ review. We both agree that rural villages and towns in the Fens would benefit from affordable housing being kept in perpetuity for low paid workers”.

Peter Roberts added “On average people working in the Fens can expect to be paid over 20 per cent less than workers in neighbouring urban areas, so any expansion in affordable housing schemes and more flexible planning rules, whilst only the first steps, can’t come soon enough for the Fens”.