Political opinion: Victoria Collins MP demands infrastructure-first planning, securing Parliament debate

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, recently secured a debate in Parliament where she called on the government to adopt an "infrastructure-first" approach to planning. In the Westminster Hall debate, Victoria exposed the government's "broken" planning system, warning that poorly-defined policies are handing developers a "wide-open door" to bypass local plans while communities are left without the infrastructure they desperately need.

Speaking in Parliament, Victoria detailed the crisis facing Harpenden, Berkhamsted, Tring, Redbourn and surrounding villages - where housing targets have nearly doubled under Labour's new methodology, yet transport infrastructure remains desperately inadequate. St Albans District Council's housing target has almost doubled, while Dacorum's has jumped by more than a third. These increases are not even covered in the current local housing plans and will be coming down the line.

The debate heard evidence from constituents highlighting the stark reality on the ground: from late and cancelled trains, to traffic on the roads and woeful bus services. Bus services have been decimated, with Hertfordshire seeing a 56.5% reduction in bus mileage between 2017 and 2023 under the Conservatives, the highest cut in England.

Victoria also warned that the government's poorly-defined "grey belt" policy is handing developers a "wide-open door" to bypass local plans. In Redbourn, a 1,000-home development - not in the local plan - is claiming grey belt status. Combined with other sites, Redbourn faces potential growth of over 70%.

The debate comes as communities face additional pressure from Luton Airport expansion (increasing capacity from 19 to 32 million passengers), the planned Universal Studios theme park, and continued speculative development while local plans remain with inspectors - leaving areas "ripe for unplanned development."

Victoria was joined by several constituents who came into Parliament to ensure their voices were heard by the government and Ministers.

Victoria said: "The local people of Harpenden, Berkhamsted, Tring, Redbourn and our villages are no NIMBYs. They understand the need for housing. What they cannot understand is a planning system that hands power to developers and takes it away from communities - that doubles housing targets without doubling infrastructure.

"Trains are cancelled daily. Buses stop at 2pm in some villages. Roads built for older market towns are now gridlocked. And the average house price in Harpenden is around £900,000, with Berkhamsted over £650,000. How can we tell local people they're sacrificing green belt so their children can afford to buy, when so-called 'affordable' homes at 80% of market value can still cost over half a million pounds?

"I've heard directly from constituents like Hannah, a sixth-former from Harpenden, who says she's never considered living here in the future because it would be far too expensive - and who relies on public transport for her independence, transport that is being stripped away. Or Catherine from Redbourn, who rightly says villages should not be measured the same way as towns when it comes to grey belt - especially when they have rare chalk streams and wildlife you don't find anywhere else in Europe.

"The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to adopt an infrastructure-first approach to planning. Communities like ours should not have to choose between housing and infrastructure. They need both, planned together, from the start. It's the least our communities deserve."