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  Latest epistle from Charlie.
  
  
  
  Everyone knows we need to build more homes. It is the only way we can truly ensure the dream of owning your own home is kept alive for young people. Yes, the Help to Buy scheme and cutting stamp duty help more people get on the housing ladder. Yet it is the building of more quality and affordable homes which is most vital of all. In Dover and Deal our hard work has been paying off. A total of 150 homes were registered in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the UK average of 60. Meanwhile, the number of new builds started last year was 434 – almost twice the national average.
  Increasing supply means homes become more affordable. That is crucial, because people in Dover and Deal work hard and deserve to be able to lay down roots and secure a future for their family.
  That’s why I was so deeply disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court last week to uphold an appeal which stops hundreds of new homes being built on brownfield land at Farthingloe.
  
  Of course, we all want to protect our beautiful countryside. Yet the truth is that this case focussed on a technicality over planning process – not any genuine threat to wildlife or the environment. It’s taken four years and hundreds of thousands of pounds to reach this point. Time and money which could have been invested in Dover, not wasted on legal wrangles. Moreover, it wasn’t just the councillors who supported this development. The people of Dover supported it too in a consultation process. Sadly, campaign groups like the CPRE are determined to do all they can to stop the homes we need getting built. From their comfortable homes in leafy West Kent, they think they know what’s best for Dover and Deal. They think their views matter more than the people of Dover and their elected councillors. They don’t care how hard we have to fight in East Kent for every single penny of investment. The Farthingloe project would have brought investment for what could be an outstanding tourist attraction at the Drop Redoubt and Western Heights. It would have given visitors even more reason to come to our corner of Kent – and it would have created more jobs.
  We must put the future of Dover and our young people ahead of unelected, anti-democratic campaign groups.
  
  We are leaving the European Union and have the opportunity to take back control of our laws and make Britain work for our young people. We cannot allow greenies and grumblers to hold us back. We need to face down the voices of the past who have let our country down time and time again.
  It’s time to focus on building the future. A Britain that works for our young people.

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