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Reaction to the Announcement of an Eco-Town near St Austell
CPRE Cornwall, the county’s leading environmental organisation, learned with dismay to day of the Government’s intention to proceed with the construction of an eco-town near St Austell. It is CPRE Cornwall’s contention that the St Austell eco-town is not appropriate for the following eight reasons:
(1) it is not an eco-town, but six eco-villages;
(2) there is no need for an eco-town in this location, or elsewhere in Cornwall, because there is unlikely to be sufficient local employment opportunities;
(3) the local infrastructure is inadequate (roads, shops, schools, community facilities etc) to support these communities and this problem is likely to be made worse not better;
(4) that the housing provided by the six eco-villages would be in addition to those being imposed by the Government through its Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS);
(5) the sites are being brought forward outside the normal planning system for such developments, contrary to previous Government statements and guidance on how such large development proposals should be handled;
(6) the impact of 4 and 5 is that local communities have had little, if any, say in the site selection process and will now be largely restricted to commenting on the details of the eco-town not the principle. Communities have not been engaged in the planning process; they have merely been told how their environment is going to change forever. This is fundamentally wrong, unfair and undemocratic;
(7) that the current land owner and user would, it appears, be excused from an obligation to reinstate land spoilt by china clay extraction; and
(8) that the current land owner appears to substantially profit by selling land that has been spoilt to a developer while local communities have to live with the consequences.
The Government’s choice of St Austell for an eco-town is, of course, subject to planning consent being obtained.
Richard Ward and Ted Venn
16th July 2009
Editorial Comment:
These six eco-villages are being imposed on Cornwall. Local opinion is being brushed aside, as the Government continues to push on regardless in its effort to achieve its own partisan objectives. Furthermore, the development of six eco-villages near St Austell is additional to the 68,700 new homes that the Government is endeavouring to impose on Cornwall by 2026. Together with a possible massive increase in wind farms, the Government’s housing programme will destroy Cornwall’s economic base that is heavily dependent on tourism. With more and more countryside lost to development, the county will cease to be attractive to holidaymakers and those seeking to live in Cornwall.
Richard Ward, Planning and Development Manager for CPRE Cornwall, explained the situation by saying:
“These eco-villages are not wanted, not needed, nor do they have the support of local communities. They are in fact being imposed on local people without the normal planning system being followed. There is no chance in my view that they will work, have the necessary jobs needed to be sustainable, and either be exemplar or high quality developments as was originally proposed. A recent announcement on the need to reduce Government spending in future years suggests that essential infrastructure facilities will also be missing. We are likely therefore to just end up with volume house building with little if any affordable houses which are urgently needed.”
He went on to say “The area is quite capable of being improved and regenerated without these proposals, which have the potential along with the decision to build more wind farms to destroy the very thing that makes this county attractive to residents and tourists, its special environment.”
So that sums it up: Cornwall’s environment is at stake! However, as a General Election must be held within the next eleven months, the public has a chance to redress the situation by asking parliamentary candidates to listen to the people of Cornwall, and to act on their views. Candidates that fail to act in accordance with the wishes of those from whom they seek support, do so at their peril!
Ted Venn
17th July 2009
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