A recent flyer distributed by UKIP in the Nethermayne Ward addresses the development of Dry Street Pastures. The leaflet is arrogant, totally misleading and reflects a failure to grasp the facts of the case.
The outline planning permission was granted by a Conservative majority but cannot be challenged or revoked by any political group. The only challenge can come from a court of law with a judgement that the decision was unsound. No political party can overturn the decision and to suggest they can is misleading.
The challenge to the scrutiny committee by Linda Allport – Hodge was actually about St Martin’s Square and the change of use. Given that the application for the process had been incorrectly completed by UKIP the chair of the meeting had no choice but to declare there was no case to answer.
It is deeply insulting for the local community and particularly for the GAG2011 committee to read in the leaflet, and I quote ‘You see, its (sic) all well and good being very vocal against any proposal but it takes guts, determination and sheer hard work to go head to head with the Tories’
Well, let me tell you Stephen Hodge that some people in our community have worked for 25 years to save this piece of land from previous development plans. Many others have given their time and energy since 2010 to challenge the latest bid to develop Dry Street Pastures. The community are more than vocal, we are a force to be reckoned with and we will continue to challenge the development plans through the proper channels.
]]>This was posted by Basildon Council and concerns appropriating and disposing of the land at St Martin’s Square. They are apparently required under planning law to ask if anyone objects. Well of course we do! Most of us have objected to the plans for St Martin’s Square several times now. We do not want an ugly permanent market on it as it is public open space and should be left as such. We also object to our public assets being acquired and disposed of with public money for a plan we don’t want. The plans for St Martin’s Square are part of the grand plan to build the new college on the current market place and sell off the old one as part of the Nethermayne development on Dry St Pastures.
There doesn’t seem to be an online reply facility so please can as many people as possible send an old fashioned letter with your objections to
The Service Manager of Corporate Property
St Martin’s Square
Basildon
Essex SS14 1DL
Thanks for your support.
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http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/11775453.We___ll_take_control_of_Dry_Street_fields/
]]>Many thanks to those supporters who were contacted urgently yesterday afternoon to provide support for our application. We needed 21 names and addresses of local supporters who were on the electoral role and were happy to have their names put forward. We will require more help on a similar application next week to ask for other well known local institutions to be listed as community assets. If you would like to help please email us using the contact form.
In December we also approached the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee. They had released a damming report on environmental pollution in our towns and highlighted the growing health problems caused by poor air quality. We asked them to look into the actions of the Homes and Communities Agency who own thousands of acres of greenfield sites and are developing them.
We are also intending to approach the Homes and Communities Agency through the Department for Communities and Local Government. Please sign our petition to show the HCA how local people feel. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/71624
]]>The Green Action Group GAG2011 have campaigned against the Nethermayne development, and the interdependent plans to build a new college in the town and relocate the market, since the plans were first made public. Despite considerable opposition from the community the three plans have all been passed by Basildon Council either in full or as outline planning permission. GAG have long argued that the housing development on a scheduled local wildlife site (LoWS) is unsustainable and will be damaging to the community, and that the economic and educational gains of the new college have been overstated.
We are extremely surprised to see the agenda of the cabinet meeting for Thursday 8th January which sets out a plan by Basildon Council to acquire properties that have legal rights that may prevent the new college being built in the current market place area. Put another way, the council are proposing to use compulsory purchase powers, and unspecified amounts of public money, to remove the possibility of legal action by property owners who will lose light and access to their premises if the new college is built. Surely Basildon Council must have been aware of this at an earlier stage or are they just making it up as they go along? This, by Basildon Council’s own admission, is a risky financial transaction. In a time of extensive public cuts it appears to be an act of desperation by planning officers, supported by a few councillors and the chief executive. The majority of councillors have already made their feelings clear and do not support any part of the development but they do not get a vote on this outrageous plan to risk public money.
We ask that members of the cabinet seriously consider the views of the local community on the Nethermayne development, new college and market relocation and the perception of such speculative public spending. Readers may like to email their views to the two party leaders who are members of the cabinet, Phil Turner and Linda Allport-Hodge.
Yours Faithfully,
Miriam Heppell
GA2011 Secretary
Please find a few minutes to read this. If you would like to comment on our precious wildlife being destroyed and the plan to relocate some species at Runwell (actually Rettendon) then please email the planning department at [email protected] reference 14/01176/COND or you can use the online planning portal where you will find all the relevant documents. The closing date for responses is 28th October.
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