Nimby attitudes & resistance to local development

A survey conducted by a political strategy consultancy has found that the British public holds entrenched Nimby (‘not in my back yard’) attitudes and remains resistant to local development.

The survey, conducted by , also found high levels of distrust over developers’ viability reports among elected councillors.

Just over half of elected councillors said they thought the had “done more harm than good” since it was introduced in 2012.

Councillors also demonstrated a mixed attitude towards developers, with 77 per cent saying they believed “the Government’s planning changes have put too much power in the hands of developers” and 82 per cent saying “they rarely or never trust developers’ viability reports”.

The survey found that although 55 per cent of members of the general public supported the development of private homes for sale, only 49 per cent supported the development of social housing.

Some 39 per cent supported build-to-rent housing. Around 90 per cent of the general public thought their neighbourhood was “already overdeveloped” or “fine the way it is”.

The consultancy reported that “older, more suburban people who are likely to own their own homes” objected most strongly to development. Traffic issues and adverse impacts on the character of the local area were the main reasons given for resistance to new development.

Support for development among elected councillors was higher, with 77 per cent in favour of new private homes, 80 per cent supporting social housing and 59 per cent supporting build to rent.

However, nearly four out of five elected councillors felt that their own neighbourhood was “already overdeveloped” or “fine the way it is”.