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FRADLEY CAMPAIGN GROUP HEADS FOR WESTMINSTER AS ECO-TOWN BIDDER PULLS OUT - Lichfield Mercury
A coachload of campaigners from Fradley will be joining a national rally in London on Monday against eco-town proposals.
Members of FACT (Fradley Against Curborough Town) and Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant will be joining forces with other action groups and their MPs in Westminster.
Protestors will be meeting on College Green at 1.30pm, a panel discussion will be led by shadow housing minister Grant Shapps and at 2pm petitions will be submitted to 10 Downing Street.
This event is expected to achieve considerable national and local publicity," said AFACT spokesman.
Meanwhile East Staffordshire borough councillors have joined neighbouring Lichfield in slating the proposed eco-town bid for the site at Curborough.
The council said there was no evidence the proposal was self-sustainable and wouldn't harm economic regeneration in Burton.
And the Campaign To Protect Rural England (CPRE) has called for the Government to focus on one or two truly exemplary schemes, scrap substandard proposals and rethink its eco-town programme.
Marina Pacheco, CPRE's head of planning, said: "To begin with, CPRE supported the eco-towns initiative. Who wouldn't object to exemplary schemes built to high environment standards which provide the affordable homes the nation desperately needs?
"But we now believe we have been led astray. What will this programme will deliver? It appears increasingly to be about spin with very little substance."
CPRE warns that many of the shortlisted eco-towns proposals, including Curborough, are unlikely to work in transport terms and risk being car dependent housing estates with residents stranded in the face of continued fuel price rises.
Most of the proposed eco-towns go against local plans agreed with communities and therefore have no local democratic mandate, while site-selection is based on 'arbitrary, mainly developer-led, bids rather than sound planning in the wider public interest' the campaign warned.
COUNCIL VOTES TO OPPOSE 'ECO-TOWN'
HELEN DRAYCOTT
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COUNCIL VOTES TO OPPOSE 'ECO-TOWN'
HELEN DRAYCOTT - Lichfield Mercury
Lichfield District Council 'vehemently opposes' plans for the potential development of an eco-town at Fradley, the Government is to be told.
A meeting of the full council on Monday night saw a large majority vote to change its stance from having 'serious reservations' about the plans, as they currently stand, for the Curborough development.The decision forms its response to the Government's consultation paper over the scheme.
A packed-out council chamber heard councillors slam the 'out of touch' proposal for the 5,000-home settlement on part of the old Fradley airfield, accusing the Government of waving 'a wand in the wind' when it came to selecting possible locations for the eco-towns.
STAFFORD - 4th Best Town in UK To Live
STAFFORD is the fourth best place to live in Britain, according to television show The Property List.
The town featured on the Channel Five programme last week as it counted down the best 10 areas in the country.
The grading was based on value for money for property, employment rates and prospects and crime rates.
The area's history, including Stafford Castle and the Ancient High House were highlighted by the TV team, as well as the influx of students from Staffordshire University, which helped the economy.
The multi-million pound regeneration plans for new homes, leisure, retail and business were also singled out.
Stafford resident Mark Martin, who lives in Chapel Terrace, was featured in the programme. The cameras snooped around his 200-year-old four-bedroom house, which he has refurbished and is now selling for £309,000.
The show pointed out that property prices were 10 per cent lower than the regional average, with the average house price being £165,000 and stated that Stafford was on the up.
Mayor of Stafford, Councillor Ann Edgeller said: "This area is a beautiful part of the country and we are fortunate to live in such a beautiful borough. Crime is low and there are places such as Cannock Chase and Shugborough on the doorstep."
STAFFORDSHIRE HOUSING
F.A.C.T - FRADLEY AGAINST CURBOROUGH TOWN
My recent notes about the proposed Curborough New Town of 5,000 new houses to be built between Lichfield and Fradley in South Staffordshire, have prompted welcome contact from a group known as F.A.C.T. (Fradley Against Curborough Town).
They propose a march through Lichfield City Centre on Saturday 7th June, starting from Gresley Row, off Greenhill (behind the Bald Buck pub) at 12.00. Local Tory MP Michael Fabricant will also be marching.
Popular Alliance supports such opposition whole heartedly and some of our local members will be joining the march. My own memories of growing up in Alrewas in the 1970s and cycling around the Fradley junction and aerodrome areas for many summers on the trot, tell me that this area is beautiful countryside with historic villages and communities, not prime building land. I also recall a particularly stifling August day potato picking at Curborough in one of Bill Hill’s fields and I’ve had a bad back ever since, but even that experience tells me that those fields are not for building upon.
The Eco Towns – Britain plans at least 10-15 by 2020 – are part of Gordon Brown’s “big ideas initiative” which translates as something he has been told to do by Brussels. They plan to “fill-in” the areas between Lichfield and Fradley to house up to 20,000 new residents.
The original New Towns, such as Milton Keynes, Telford & Redditch were developed following the BABY BOOM, therefore such moves at a time of the UK’s lowest birth rate for something like 150 years are confusing, especially as common sense directives such as "Save Green Land and build upon Brown Land," the inevitable strain upon available facilities in the local city of Lichfield and the existing number of available jobs in the area, suggests that this is to be a commuter town at the very time when we are being told to cut down on driving and when oil shortages loom large. Certainly the term "ECO" is quite inappropriate for a potential commuter town !!
There are countless common sense reasons why these projects should not go ahead and Popular Alliance refer to them in all manner of common sense policies – Farming, Immigration, NHS, Schools, Traffic, Environment & Sustainable Development, European Union……. Mr Brown is going to have give a lot of other ground to get this passed through so many departments and organisations, though we already know that he has very little respect for anyone else's opinion.
This however, is not a done deal yet, the consultation period ends on 30th June, so please support groups like FACT.
They can be contacted on FACT@accamail.com and 01283 790 004, or via their website www.FACTinfo.co.uk. If you able to place a poster or deliver some leaflets, please do contact them asap.
KEEP CAROLINE FLINT OUT OF STAFFS !!
Labour's Housing Minister, Caroline Flint is one of those aggresive, rude, nu-breed labour politicans with their heads firmly planted up their own backsides. She is able to convince herself that black is white and anyone with a sensible alternative view to her is labelled a complete, gutter-crawling minion. Similarly to Alastair Darling now being banned from several pubs, I vote we keep her out of Staffordshire
FRADLEY / CURBOROUGH ECO TOWN
The 2 peaceful villages of Fradley & Curborough, just north of Lichfield in Staffordshire have been earmarked to form a new ECO Town with accomodation for up to 25,000 new residents (5,000 new homes).
The Fradley aerodrome seems to be the main area for new homes and a few years back a number of 3 storey town houses were built in a rather "middle of nowhere" manner, neither in Fradley village or anywhere else, besides having enormous warehouses overlooking some of the back gardens. Perhaps the developers at the time were privvy to this plan ?
News items in the Lichfield Mercury have suggested that the ECO Town will reach to within 1 mile of Lichfield. The proposed 20-25,000 population will equal that of the Burntwood/Chasetown connurbation to the west of Lichfield which causes absolute chaos every working day, with minor roads barely able to cope with the volume of traffic. No doubt north east Lichfield will suffer likewise if this plan goes ahead.
Fradley has 1 school built to handle the capacity of the original small village and outlying farms. This project will require at least 2 secondary schools, its own medical centres, shops, police station, fire station, road network etc. Does our countryside really need this ?
Nearby Lichfield has 3 secondary schools, all bursting at the seams already. Lichfield dentists are already closed to new users. Parking in Lichfield is already chaotic. Lichfield has a small re-developed hospice/health centre. Trent Valley Police already try to cover Burton on Trent areas from Cannock, this simply adds to the problem. Just what sort of ECO are we talking about here ? Perhaps CHAOS is a better description, although at least the area is not prone to flooding.
So Popular Alliance ask, just where are they going find all of these new people ? Are these houses to offer an escape to working white families in Birmingham & Walsall areas, being forced out of their neighbourhoods by endless, out of control immigration, needlessly bringing yet more and more Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans to our cities ?
This is not a racial argument, it is one of practicality, our country's services are swamped as it is and if our population is supposed to be falling, why do we need so many new houses ? We have recently entered a slump in house sales and we hear that many developers are being very coy about new projects. We do however remind how the "multi-cultural" experiment has been deemed a complete failure in many areas.
Even the House of Lords has decreed that this practice is creating such a strain on our services, that any benefit the economy might receive on the work front, is doubly swallowed up by the strain on services, healthcare, schooling, housing, welfare, multi-cultural problems and policing. This is not a racial matter, its a "we're already full" matter.
If the indiginous British population is decreasing and droves are emigrating, sick of the state of our country, then this can be the only answer to why this new housing is needed.
Mr Brown and Mr Darrrrrling will be looking to create a bigger house moving market, to create more tax to waste on needless intiatives that they keep stirring up. What a couple of prize idiots !!!
Popular Alliance welcome the views views of local people who are terrified just what this might bring to their previously peaceful lives. Please email C.Chapman@popularalliance.org, we'll do all we can to publicise this matter and we are not afraid to "say it like it needs to be said."
Infomation noted from various websites, including the Government's.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper confirmed 45 towns and cities as New Growth Points, with the potential to deliver up to 100,000 extra new homes and many more new jobs over the next ten years than previously planned. New Growth Points will deliver a substantial number of new homes to help first time buyers onto the property ladder and enable towns and cities to grow their economies by creating new jobs and encouraging business development.
EAST STAFFS TO BUILD
East Staffordshire Borough Council aims to build around 5,000 homes by 2016. Plans for East Staffordshire include redeveloping 282 hectares of high quality premium employment land, attracting high value industries to the area. Comprehensive Area Action Plans for Burton-upon-Trent town centre will help to create a professional community who work and live in the town, whilst the borough also strives to preserve the rural nature of the area through enhancement of green spaces, canals and rivers.
FUNDING
These areas will share in £40m start up funding to support infrastructure, unlock sites for new housing and to assess and mitigate environmental impacts. To support East Staffordshire Borough Council's growth ambitions, Government is allocating around £310,000 in 2007/08 from the first year's funding pot, subject to detailed negotiation and appraisal. These allocations will make the areas more attractive for business investment and help young people who want to stay in their home town to find a home.
The initiative is a crucial part of delivering an increase in housebuilding in England in response to economist Kate Barker's review of housing supply which found that over the last 30 years house building rates have halved whereas over the same period demand for new homes has increased by a third.
Yvette Cooper MP said: "If we don't build more homes less than a third of today's ten year olds will be able to afford a place of their own in twenty years time. Helping our towns and cities that want to grow can make substantial difference in delivering the new homes we need. "This gives East Staffordshire the chance to provide more jobs and homes with higher design and environmental standards too."
Councillor Alex Fox MBE, Leader of East Staffordshire Borough Council said:
NEW GROWTH POINTS
New Growth Points will help to concentrate future growth at existing urban centres and present a significant opportunity for the new communities to become exemplars of sustainabilty by pioneering eco-development and encapsulating high design standards in parallel with meeting the housing needs of local communities.
The growth ambitions submitted have all been appraised by Government to ensure they are sustainable, acceptable environmentally and realistic in terms of infrastructure. Levels and locations of growth are subject to full public consultation, testing, and examination through local and regional planning processes.
In signing up to a new partnership for growth with the Government, local authorities will be subject to conditions to ensure there is effective water supply and flood mitigation, and that the impact of potential development on infrastructure is fully understood.
Notes to Editors:
1. In its Response to Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply on 5 December 2005, the Government announced the intention to increase the rate of housing delivery in England from 160,000 homes per year then to 200,000 per year by 2016. Government invited local authorities and their partners to put forward proposals for sustainable growth, which could form the basis of a long-term partnership for growth, to help achieve this ambition1.
2. On 20 June 2006 we announced a list of 21 places with which we would be working over the summer to assess their potential to increase housing supply.2 Since then, a further eight places have come forward with proposals to grow. These 29 places are focussed on 45 towns and cities across around 70 local authorities. Taken together these locations aim to deliver around 100,000 more homes over the 10 years from 2006-2016 than in plans in existence in 2003, when the Sustainable Communities Plan was published3.
3. If these local ambitions were realised then the New Growth Points would make a significant contribution to achieving delivery of 200,000 homes per year by 2016.
4. These 29 places are today entering into a Partnership for Growth with Government: a long-term working relationship between Government and its agencies and local authorities to achieve the potential for sustainable growth and to meet the housing needs of the population, now and into the future. For more information see the Partnership for Growth document. http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1503854
5. The local authorites will now work closely with DCLG and other Government organisations such as the Environment Agency, Highways Agency, Natural England and CABE, the Government's design adviser, to ensure that the growth is sustainable, acceptable environmentally and realistic in terms of infrastructure.
New Growth Point Total Homes Funding breakdown Total
East Mids 81,500 £5.1m £385,000 £5,485,000
(3 Counties - Derbys,Leics & Notts)
Birmingham, 40,000 £3.66m £560,000 £4,220,000
Coventry 9,000 £250,000 £250,000
Telford 13,000 £200,000 £200,000
East Staffs 5,000 £310,000 £310,000
(Burton-upon-Trent & Uttoxeter)
Hereford 8,500 £200,000 £200,000
Worcester 3,800 £200,000 £200,000
Maidstone 5,040 £1.5m £50,000 £1,550,000
Swindon 17,700 £2.85m £300,000 £3,150,000
Taunton 6,600 £95,000 £95,000
We deleted several other towns from this list
Totals 426,357 £30m £10.8m £40,854,000
NOTES
7. The New Growth Points initiative is based on the potential and local ambition to achieve growth of at least 20% above 2003 plan levels. DCLG has worked closely with the Department for Transport, Defra, Environment Agency and other agencies to assess the information provided by the places, considering such issues as: the ability to achieve growth at the levels suggested without detrimental impact on sensitive habitats, to ensure adequate water supply to new and existing developments and to avoid over-burdening transport networks. As a result, Government agrees with the local authorities concerned that potential exists to deliver around 30% more homes across the 29 locations than previously planned for.
11. Funding made available for studies might be used on essential masterplanning activity or on flood mitigation or water cycle studies, in order to strengthen the evidence base to inform development and planning decisions. Many places will use the award to increase their capacity to rise to the challenge of increasing housing supply. For more information about potential projects contact the local authority concerned.
Contact
For further information please contact Mahmood Azam on 01283 508621 or Sandra Ford on 01283 508362 at East Staffordshire Borough Council. Public Enquiries: 020 7944 4400
Popular Alliance Comments
Why, where and how does East Staffordshire accomodate a further 5,000 homes ? The towns of Burton on Trent and Uttoxeter are well established and numerous villages are already fed up of constant additional building that results in overused roads, bursting schools and countless green belt areas being swallowed to house a supposedly reducing population. This points to a lot of fields being built upon and a lot of in-filling to upset numerous local communities.
The excuse that they need to house our children in affordable housing is a initially a good one, and yet each housing project that comes along simply pushes local house prices even more through the roof, tearing the heart out of their claim every time.
The only reasons to create endless additional housing in this country are :-
i) Justify so many people being employed in that industry
ii) House those who keep pouring across our borders from the EU, Asia and Africa, or as a knock on, house those escaping the inner city ghettos made by the out of control immigration problem.
iii) Keep us moving house and paying tax each time
Controlled Growth
Popular Alliance realise that growth is good, but at a controlled rate and for the right reasons. We suspect that much of the housing boom is a tool for the government to encourage house moving and therefore mass taxation to mend their leaky bucket.
Our Aim
Our aim is to repeal EU membership and control our own borders to suit what is good for this country. Such growth in one small area is far too high, even spread across 10 or so years.
Review of other areas
Look at the above figures for Maidstone. It is literally overun with new immigrants, with many long term residents moving out for that very reason. The water supply to the South East has long been a problem, so is it wise to invest so much in creating even more of "drain" to that very real problem ?
3,800 new homes in Worcester - a city that floods 2-3 times every year ? Are these homes earmarked to re-house those whose lives fall apart every time the River Severn floods ?
8,500 new homes in Hereford, a city with high unemployment and too remote for daily commuters to work elsewhere.
SUMMARY
This all points to a government committed to keep our borders wide open, to leave our welfare and unemployment funding problems well alone and to continue fleecing every possible avenue of massive taxation to cover the billions over our tax, wasted by an incompetent regime.
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