| Area | Date | Venue |
| Pitsea | Saturday 13 February 2016 10.30am – 4.30pm | The Place: Pitsea Leisure Centre, Northlands Pavement, Pitsea |
| Monday 29 February 2016 2:00pm – 8:00pm | ||
| Basildon | Wednesday 17 February 2016 10.00am – 4.30pm | Upper Mall, Eastgate Centre, Southernhay, Basildon |
| Saturday 5 March 2016 10.00am – 4.30pm | ||
| Laindon | Saturday 20 February 2016 10.30am – 4.30pm | President’s Community Centre, Hoover Drive, Laindon |
| Monday 7 March 2016 2.00pm – 8.00pm | Womens’ Institute Hall, Samuel Road, Langdon Hills | |
| Billericay | Monday 22 February 2016 2.00pm – 8.00pm | Billericay Day Centre, Chantry Way, Billericay |
| Saturday 12 March 2016 10.30am – 4.30pm | ||
| Wickford | Saturday 27 February 2016 10.30am – 4.30pm | Wickford Community Centre, Market Road, Wickford |
| Wednesday 16 March 2016 2.00pm – 8.00pm |
Housing Plan
The plan for the first phase of housing on Dry St Pastures has been approved by Basildon Council without putting it before the planning committee. Sadly they have the power to ignore this democratic and transparent process. Your local councillors, particularly those that serve on the planning committee are shocked and horrified.
It was quite clear during the recent consultation that the housing plan, for the first phase, was rather different to that put forward as part of the outline planning permission in June 2013. It was quite possible that the plan would have been thrown out by councillors if it had gone to the planning committee, on the basis that the details were so different to the outline. For example, Redrow have downgraded the low cost housing element of the plan; they are allowed to pay off the council so that low cost housing can be built elsewhere.
The first phase of 30 homes detailed in the outline planning permission has increased to 181. In the outline plan, following the building of 30 homes, highway improvement would commence. Those that live in Dry St will know that surveyors were there this week to begin upgrading the Nethermayne end of Dry St.
Legal Case
The courts do not sit in August so our case will have joined a number of other small cases to be reviewed by a judge in September. We have asked to have our case re examined on the basis that we have suffered an injustice because previous judges did not take account of an EU law being broken, and refused us a judicial review. The odds are against us but it really is our last chance to make any legal challenge. We hope to hear news next week.
Fundraising
Contacts
Contact GAG:
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.
]]>There is also an article about the long campaign for a 20MPH zone in Dry Street which we also support. This is a country lane and single track in several places. It is unsafe for pedestrians and the planned new development will only increase the traffic. After the death of Justin Bowman, Denise Briggenshaw led a strongly supported campaign but Essex CC refused to lower the speed limit. We learned recently that Essex CC were planning to introduce quiet lane 20MPH speed limits in some rural areas. Dry St surely must qualify.
Yellow Advertiser – We’ll not be silenced on this
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
]]>St Francis Church, West Horndon 12-4.30pm
President’s Community Centre, Hoover Drive, Laindon 4.30 – 9pm.
Only two sessions for such a large development is totally inadequate. Hopefully there will be more sessions to inform the public and not just an online response.