Isles Quarry West - New Development Scheme
NEW DEVELOPER HITS THE SCENE
Just when you thought Isles Quarry West housing had gone away for a while, and the new Coalition Government might just scrap the whole scheme, a new developer has popped out of the woodwork.
Crest Nicholson are preparing plans, sample below, for a development of 204 houses.
The 2005 Parish Plan,( the original, not the forged version used by T&MBC) showed the majority of residents of our crowded village wanted a stop to anymore large developments. This feeling was unanimously reinforced in a Public Meeting in 2006, and in case that wasn't enough proof, the Parish Poll in 2008 voted against Isles Quarry. The Parish Council and our Borough Councillors refused at that time to acknowledge resident's wishes, and instead wholeheartedly supported the scheme put forward by TMBC and Hanson.
Cllr Sue Murray Cllr David Evans
ssma.murray1@tesco.net dwpppe@aol.comWhat happened in the runup to the Local Development Framework and who did what is largely irrelevant now: the LDF has "approved" the concept of 200+ houses, and removed the greenbelt protection from the land, no matter what you wanted.
But the game has changed: The coalition has now scrapped the South East Plan, is in the process of scrapping the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), and this is where those flawed housing targets came from, the targets that were the only justification for T&M's plan.
Now, curiously, our two Borough Councillors above are both members of the Conservative Party, and are part of the ruling Conservative group at T&M. Will they all now change their position and support their own Government's moves to protect our environment? Or are they still deeply mired in that old cabal to turn Borough Green into Milton Keyenes?
Protest Groups are therefore faced with a very intriguing possibility, well understood by the developer and hence the galloping rush: There is a very real possibility that the Government may now move to remove the LDFs. So those who oppose the development may only need to delay it, not actually stop it!
Now there's an interesting thought !!
Of Course, the developer and the planners will tell you "Oh, the Government won't remove the LDF until they have a new scheme to takeover from it because there would be a free-for-all, and it could take years"
Wrong: Normal planning controls would remain in place, all that changes is the over-arching strategy, that's what Local Plans and LDFs are, strategy.
So whether you support or oppose the development is irrelevant, the most important fact is that our planners and Borough Councillors must listen to the electorate. I urge those who are concerned to write or email our councillors and planners, charging them in the strongest possible terms that this application is subjected to the same stringent requirements as any other major development in Greenbelt AONB.
The planning process must be applied fairly and robustly, this application cannot be just "nodded through".
Finally, I must note that no Parish Councillor will have as yet formed a view on this. We must wait until a full application comes forward, and look at that in the light of the evidence on the day. However, each councillor also has a duty to ensure that residents views are carried forward properly and that those views are given the weight they deserve.
All the sketches in this page have been copied from a brochure given to members of the Parish Council, and Crest were at pains to point out that these were initial ideas only, and that they would listen to residents. more below......
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