That would be great if they had also told us who was going to pay for them to be built, who was going to buy them and who was going to employ those who were going to buy these homes. But they didn't.

We have seen a roadshow telling us how this could be done in terms of what land area of Rutland could be used, but unfortunately not being able to answer the other more awkward questions.

We were also told in 2006 that those 3,347 homes would only take up 61 hectares or 0.3per cent of the land area of Rutland.

Since then Rutland has seen approval being granted for a further 85.5 hectares given to Castle Cement, who supply 11per cent of all the cement used in the UK.

We have also seen since then Rutland Water, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in Europe, being given approval to expand by approximately a further 100 hectares which will then cover 1,354 hectares.

Both of these resources will be required in the building of new homes in the UK between now and 2026, but Rutland is not being credited for giving up this land.

Market forces will determine the number of homes that we require, not some bureaucrats in Nottingham or London.

Tom Chalmers
Chairman
Rutland Campaign for the Protection of Rural England