EDITORIAL

 

Here we are again, fighting planning and development issues on all fronts.  The usual suspects – Stansted, Thames Gateway, loss of green belt, under-used brownfield sites, lack of infrastructure, poor design of new homes, global warming – will always be on the agenda and that is something which our new chairman, MICHAEL ROCHE, will find filling up his in-tray for some time ahead.

 

He is now in the hot seat but outgoing chairman, PETER CHILLINGWORTH, is continuing as vice-chairman so his experience and knowledge of planning regulations will not be lost to CPREssex. These are often complex matters which arouse a lot of debate but are not always easy to resolve.  Government changes and new legislation are making planning even more of a minefield but at least we are prepared to continue opposing some of the issues which cause concern not only to our members but the public at large.

 

The advisory meetings, held six times a year, are often dominated by reports from the district representatives who report on planning decisions and applications that stir up a lot of local anger and frustration.  We have the benefit of local Councillors and representatives from other environmental organisations who attend these meetings and give their opinions.  This often provides a balanced and in-depth view of a particular planning problem – and reinforces our opinion that the Essex branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England has a crucial role in preserving and protecting life and traditions in the rural and urban parts of the county.

 

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We receive monthly membership figures from National office and the trend always seems to remain the same – we gain a few and lose a few.  Currently there are just over 1,000 CPREssex members – not many in a population of 1,614,220.  Treasurer Colin Canfield made this point at the recent AGM, adding that 416 new recruits would enable us to break even on our current rate of expenditure. If you like number-crunching then consider this target.  Just 1,470 members would be 0.0911 of 1 per cent of the entire population!

 

 

CPREnthusiasm….CPRExperience…CPREnergy…CPREssex

 

CPRE is an organisation which depends on the enthusiasm, experience and energy of volunteers.  Like all branches in England, we need to recruit more people to support our efforts.  Do you know anyone who could spare some of their time for CPREssex?  Please get in touch with Chris Baron at the Feering office if you or anyone else would be interested.

 

 

CHAIRMAN, MICHAEL ROCHE, WAS INVITED TO ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS FOR Action Essex AND THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY

What is your background?

 

I have lived in Essex for the past four years after

moving from rural Wiltshire. My background has been

food manufacture, HR Management,Voluntary sector work

in Mental Health and Local Authority Home Care

and Residential Care. I have interests in community

transport and rural affairs.

 

What attracted you to the job of CPREssex chairman?                              Michael Roche

 

I believe strongly in fighting for our precious Essex countryside preserving rural communities, supporting local food networks and retaining village shops and post offices. Being retired, I now have more time to make a contribution to the work of CPREssex.

 

What are your views about the current urban and rural development in Essex?

 

I support the protection of the Green Belt and encourage the use of urban land for housing to save building on the countryside.

 

Are there any changes you would like to encourage within CPREssex?

 

It’s too early to form my views at present. I need to get to know our volunteers and supporters and bring all the ideas into a forward looking vision for us.

 

What do you think are the biggest challenges we face in Essex?

 

The recent Queen’s Speech with a New Agency to drive Home Building and the new Planning Laws are a potential threat to local democratic accountability.

 

I am concerned that large project decisions for expanding airports such as Stansted, new building power stations and roads will be taken by an independent commission.  The housing targets are ‘challenging’ to say the least!  

 

How should CPREssex be tackling these challenges?

 

We need to work closely with local networks and CPRE National office to campaign strongly and make people aware about the threats facing Essex.

 

What are your long-term aims for CPREssex?

 

I would like to increase our membership and secure financial stability for the organisation so that we are able to do more to meet our vision.

 

What do you consider the most important issue for CPREssex?

 

We have to make sure that communities have a real say in the decisions that affect them and impact on the countryside.

 

 

How can individual members support the work of CPREssex?

 

Supporters can strengthen our voice.  We need to be heard more, especially within the planning process. This means the district groups need more support. In some areas – like Chelmsford and Tendring -  we are looking to boost the district groups and increase support for the work of CPREssex.

 

We continue to have plenty of coverage in the media – newspaper and radio.  BBC Essex recently asked Press Officer David Williams to give our side of the story about the rash of ugly advertising hoardings now appearing in fields close to some of the major trunk roads in the County.

 

Planning Group chair David Green gave his thoughts on ‘back-garden development’ for the BBC Essex weekend gardening programme. The loophole which classifies urban gardens as brownfield sites is causing some planning arguments.
 
Around the districts…

Colchester will be monitoring the

application to build a training centre in the

district for the 2012  Olympics………Basildon is

keeping a close watch on the intentions of

English Partnerships who may try again  to

develop the land they own at Dry Street.

Thurrock report that the P & O/Shell Haven

Port development on the Thames is Dubai-owned

and will be ‘floated’ on the Stock Market.  Sounds

like a mega-development which will have enormous

repercussions on South Essex infra-structure.

 

 

STANSTED AIRPORT PUBLIC INQUIRY:  “REFUSAL” IS THE ONLY LOGICAL OUTCOME

 

Five months of forensic examination of the arguments for and against BAA's expansion proposals for Stansted have left the Spanish-owned airport company's case in tatters. That’s the view of Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) as the Public Inquiry into proposals to expand the capacity of the single runway came to a close. 

 

BAA is now expected to announce yet another postponement to its timetable for submitting a planning application for a second runway at Stansted. 

 

John Drake and Suzanne Walker attended many of the sittings and presented CPRE’s evidence covering Landscape Physical Character, Landscape Damage, Tranquillity, Light pollution & Quality of life. James Abbott, an astronomer and Braintree District  councillor, was called as an expert witness on Light Pollution.'  The inspectors were determined to hear all the arguments and both John and Suzanne had some difficult questions to answer. 

 

SSE were the ‘leading the fight’ and had spent a lot of time and effort preparing their case.  BAA must have found it an uncomfortable experience.  SSE Chairman Peter Sanders said that the airport operator had demonstrated a spectacular lack of rigour in its assessment of the impacts of its proposals. 

 

“In essence,” said Mr Sanders, “BAA has been wholly unconvincing in its efforts to persuade the Inquiry that its proposed development would have no material effects on the community or the environment.  This should not be a surprise because, if approved, it would be the equivalent, in terms of scale of operation, to adding Birmingham Airport on top of the Stansted Airport that we have today."

 

This is understood to be the first time that a planning application for airport expansion has been challenged on economic as well as environmental grounds and the first time that climate change has featured as a major issue at a public inquiry into airport expansion. 

 

 

 

Over the course of the Inquiry, lead Inspector Alan Boyland and his assistant Terry Phillimore heard evidence from more than 130 different witnesses and received hundreds of written representations.  Opposition to BAA’s plans came from Uttlesford District Council (incorporating Essex and Herts County Councils’ evidence), the National Trust, Saffron Walden Friends of the Earth, the Airlines Consultative Committee and Much Hadham Parish Council as well as CPRE. 

 

The Inspector is due to submit his report on proceedings and make his recommendations to the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears) and for Transport (Ruth Kelly) by Christmas. 

 

THAMES GATEWAY REPORT SHOWS BIG GAPS IN REAL PROGRESS

 

One year after the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s 2006 report on the Thames Gateway, half the boroughs in the area show either regression or no progress in respect of five out of 10 key indicators.

 

This is the conclusion drawn by CPRE’s second report on the growth area, Focus on the Thames Gateway 2, published in late November. The report shows that at least half the local authorities show regression or no improvement in:

 

·        unemployment rates;

·        educational attainment;

·        access to local amenities and services;

·        town centre renewal;

·        green space management.

 

However, the report also shows that most local authorities in the Thames Gateway achieved improvements in:

 

·        using brownfield land for housing;

·        using brownfield land for business development;

·        making efficient use of land for housing;  

·        protecting environmentally designated sites;

·        promoting good design.

 

This is like the curate’s egg – some good, some bad.  The biggest disappointment is lack of green space management.  We need to look after our green spaces; as the population creeps upwards so our standards of living come under threat.  Essex has so much accessible green space worth preserving and managing – but complacency could offer the Government to snatch it away. 

 

Patricia Herrmann, OBE, seen talking to fellow CPREssex Vice-President Robert Erith, was presented with a CPRE medal at the AGM in recognition of her work for CPRE over many years.

 

 

ACTION ESSEX is a publication by CPREssex.

For further details and editorial contributions, contact the Editor, David Williams,

70 Hadleigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex SS9 2LZ.

email: davidwilliams@dwmedia.co.uk