The Boundary Commission has proposed the new constituency which will bring together Diss and Harleston in Norfolk with Eye, Bungay and Halesworth in Suffolk.
The constituency will be one of the top priority seats for the Green Party nationally. The party is already the main challenger to the Conservatives in the constituency in terms of council seats and forms the official opposition on Mid Suffolk District Council which covers the majority of the area, as well as leading the opposition at the County Council.
Adrian said: “The villages of North Suffolk and South Norfolk share almost all of the same issues, and they are nearly all caused by a complacency on the part of the Conservative government – a failure to allow local people to make their own decisions and a failure to ensure local services like buses and GP surgeries are supported while allowing developers to build houses local people often can’t afford.
“The area has had MPs from just one party for far too long. With this new constituency, there’s an opportunity to elect someone who can bring some fresh thinking and stand up for local people.”
Adrian visited Parish Fields in Diss, the much-loved open space in the centre of town which is threatened by development.
He said: “Even though this space is privately owned, it is now a unique historic landscape in the centre of town and should be protected from development.
“There are hundreds of houses already planned for around the edges of Diss, and we have to draw the line somewhere. People need homes, but they need affordable homes. Houses for the wealthy too often favoured by private developers will not meet local need.”
He added: “While the Government has given carte blanche to giant corporate housebuilders, it has done nothing to build local services and protect areas from pollution and congestion.
“For example, the Government voted against forcing water companies like Anglian Water to stop pouring sewage into rivers. Here in Diss last year, storm overflows pumped out raw sewage into the Waveney 209 times for a total of 861 hours.” *
*Source: The Rivers Trust
