WYCOMBE District Council has just started a major public consultation on options for new housing in the District. The Council faces a difficult challenge. All of us want to protect the countryside – and especially the Chilterns AONB. Most of us also want to see the distinct identities of our towns and villages preserved. We dislike it when new building changes the character of the place where we live.

But other things too have to be weighed in the balance. We have more separate households for any given number of people than was the case 20 or 50 years ago. People are living to a greater age and living independently for longer. Young people will usually work and live away from their parents for some years before settling down. Large numbers of families split up – meaning two homes are needed instead of one. These social changes are part of the explanation for rising housing demand.

On top of that, our population itself is growing with people wanting to move into the South East and because of immigration. Whatever view one takes about migration policy for the future, people who have settled in Britain lawfully are entitled to be here. I know from my constituency caseload that there are people locally living in overcrowded or unsuitable homes. We all know that for young people today it is horrendously expensive to get even the first foot on the housing ladder.

So our country, including Wycombe District, needs more homes. Personally, I think that every city, town and village can take some additional housing but the scale, design and location of new development ought to be sorted out locally. I’ve seen, for example, some well-designed small housing schemes in Bledlow, Longwick and Monks Risborough that have been supported by the local community. By contrast, I remember an application for the Molins site at Saunderton which Wycombe rightly turned down because it would have plonked down a large housing estate in a place with no shops, school, GP surgery or public transport.

In Wycombe, much of the District is Green Belt and AONB. If we want development elsewhere, that means concentrating on the Risborough area. But business says that that isn’t the right location to attract new jobs. So would we just end up with more commuting and even longer jams at the Pedestal and through High Wycombe?

Alternatively, is there land which, though designated Green Belt, is of minor environmental value and which could be given up for housing and employment? The Council has identified some sites as possible options and is asking the public to comment. In my view there are three key things that we need. First, we need Wycombe to have a Local Plan. Without that, it will be difficult to win planning appeals by developers who’ve had their applications turned down. Second, we should plan for jobs as well as houses. I want our towns and villages to be places where people can earn a living, not just dormitory settlements. Third, we shall want developers to pay for the new infrastructure and public services which both new and established residents will need. That suggests allowing development in places where Wycombe can extract the greatest overall public benefit.

The consultation runs until 4 April. Do have your say.