Member

As a Member of Parliament, I was responsible for Cambourne, which had no homes when I started out as an MP but now has, I think—I shall be there on Sunday—approaching 6,000 homes, and for the establishment of Northstowe, which was meant to have 6,000 homes by 2016. In fact, it had none, but it is now having homes built. Both tell us a great deal about the relative importance of early infrastructure and early community engagement. A process by which Parliament is thoroughly consulted about the new towns programme at an early stage, and in detail when the statutory instruments to designate a new town have been drafted, would substantially assist the process of reassuring the communities that will be most affected.