Caroline Voaden

Caroline Voaden

Liberal Democrat — South Devon

Speaking in the House of Commons on 13 November 2026

Debate

Homes and Planning Bill

Contribution

It is great to hear about Milton Keynes building infrastructure and having dedicated cycle lanes. That is so much easier in a new town, where that can be done through urban planning, and we are absolutely in favour of that. The hon. Lady talks about how important it is for local areas to build. South Hams, which I represent, has built its required number of houses year after year after year under Liberal Democrat leadership, but, because of inward migration, we have more than 4,000 second homes there—the fourth-highest concentration in the entire country. The Devon Housing Commission says that inward migration from outside Devon is a massive problem. That is why my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George) has put forward a Bill that would help us to curb the second homes issue. It may not be a problem in Milton Keynes, but it is a particular issue that we are dealing with in certain parts of the country. That is why building and building and building is not the solution when we have massive inward migration from people wanting to retire to a beautiful part of the country.

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