Infrastructure Audit (Housing Development) Bill

During a debate on a Conservative Private Member's Bill calling for an audit of infrastructure networks prior to significant housing development, Brooks Newmark cites examples from Braintree where new housing has put a strain on existing infrastructure.

Mr. Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con): It might be helpful if I gave an example from Braintree, which until recently was one of the fastest growing towns in Britain. Two of our community hospitals have been closed down, and the land has been sold off but a new community hospital has still yet to be built. That has caused enormous frustration in a town that is growing very fast. In addition, we have had electricity blow-outs in many of our new housing areas because the proper infrastructure was not put in place for there to be sufficient electricity supplies to the new houses.

Charles Hendry: My hon. Friend, with his usual intuition, has predicted my next point. Any south-east Member could tell a similar story because all of us face the same sort of problem: enormous pressure for house building without the necessary infrastructure in place. Indeed, many aspects of that infrastructure are getting worse.