PACKED PUBLIC MEETING HEARS FROM SDC

Cllr Barbara Tait says if Prime Minister tells her to change policy she will .. Stroud DC's Cabinet Member for Planning & Environment meets local people

Mrs Tait of Painswick who has pushed through the plans to build in Eastington Parish.
Her personal declaration of interests to SDC are here on the register of interests

Stroud DC Councillors and Officers were left in no doubt as to the anger felt by villagers over plans to dump a huge new town on land between Nupend and Stonehouse. Given the opportunity to address the meeting, Cllr Tait read out a prepared speech which went over how planners had reached the conclusion that such a huge estate should be built in the parish.

Later on Lib Dem Cllr Andrewartha proudly claimed he had done his job in reducing housing in Cam .. and explained why he supported the overall plans which included building in Eastington Parish.

Cllr Andrewartha and Cllr Tait both stated that 1500 homes was not the confirmed number .. although SDC statements show that to a) be the highest level expected and b) the land can actually hold over 3500 homes.

In the course of the evening villagers were told they had had years of warning that the plans were being considered (consultation started in 2009 ...you could have had your say then...) which felt like a scene from "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" in its delivery (*).  Officers refused to accept that the take up of the Stroud wide consultation was very low. 

There were repeated calls for the next six week consulation to be extended to twelve weeks .. the length of time SDC gave to a consulation on dog fouling. No firm promises were made to change this .. the difficulty for Councillors is that this would take it into the local election period (nb 1/3 of SDC seats are up for election in May 2012).

There was no response (betond hushed mutterings between officers and Councillors) to the request to hold a staffed and / or static meeting about the proposals in Eastington .. the most affected area .. and where SDC have no plans to consult!

Further comment from local people and the "Don't Strangle Stroud" group is expected .. as is a plan of action for the next three months.

(*) = in the HHGTTG The Vogans arrive to demolish Earth to make way for an intergalactic hyper space by pass.  When the world objects, the vogans point out the plans have been on display for years on a nearby planet .....  and if you didn't object you only have yourselves to blame.  The earth is subsequently demolished !

READ MORE from the Stroud News and Journal ... and thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

LOCAL MP AT ODDS WITH HIS OWN LOCAL PARTY
Neil Carmichael, Stroud's Conservative MP, actively supports the campaign against the new town proposal.

"The Localism Act 2012 concerns the self determination of local people and the rights of residents to decide the shape of their communities, rather than Central Government imposition. I am fully supportive of your position in opposing this development in Eastington".

Meanwhile, the Conservative controlled District Council's response to the Localism Act is ......



SHOCK NO CONSULTATION CONSULTATION ANNOUNCED
No official meeting in Eastington
Public banned by SDC from meetings with Parish Council

NEWS FLASH - PHASE TWO CONSULTATION ANNOUNCED: 6TH Feb - 19th March

Stroud District Council have just announced the quietest, shortest, least involving, most low key consultation possible:

• There will be no public allowed at meetings with Parish Councils and these will only be arranged if the parish requests them
• Only planning officers, not policy decision makers will be present, it won't be possible to get anything but technical questions answered.
• The decision makers behind these plans will be hiding back in their offices.
• No public presentations will be made at all, as confirmed by Frances Roden, Leader of the Council
• No press are invited by the Council
• The drop-in meetings aren't meetings, only exhibitions, others aren't even manned at all. Again, only officers will be present, so no policy questions can be answered.
• There will be six short weeks for the public to decide on a £500M housing plan that will change Stroud forever.
• There is no public event at all in the village hall of the area most involved (subtly disguised as 'M5 Catchment')


Public Drop-In Exhibitions with the only Core Strategy Team in attendance

South of Gloucester Hardwicke Village Hall,
Wednesday 15 February, 3pm – 8pm

Cam/Dursley Winterbotham Hall, Cam
Saturday 18 February, 10am – 3pm

Stroud Valleys & Aston Down Brimscombe & Thrupp Social Centre
Wednesday 22 February, 3pm – 8pm
and
The Subscription Rooms, Stroud
Saturday 25 February, 10am – 3pm

Sharpness Sharpness Village Hall,
Thursday 1 March, 3pm – 8pm

M5 Catchment Stonehouse Town Council
Saturday 3 March, 10am – 3pm

Static unmanned exhibitions

South of Gloucester Blooms Garden Centre
Monday 6 February to Monday 20 March

Cam/Dursley Tesco, Cam
Saturday 11 February to Saturday 18 February

Stroud Valleys & Aston Down Stroud Town Council
Monday 6 February to Sunday 26 February

Minchinhampton Library
Monday 20 February to Friday 3 March

Stroud District Council Offices
Monday 6 February to Friday 16 March

M5 Catchment Stonehouse Town Council
Monday 6 February to Monday 19 March

NO councillors will meet public to discuss damaging proposals for Stroud

"DON'T STRANGLE STROUD"
Energised campaign group fights proposed West of Stonehouse NewTown
13/1/2012

A new group has been formed to focus on opposing the plans to build an entire new town on the fields of Eastington Parish.

Full details on the Don't Strangle Stroud tab ..
and on the group's website new-town.info

FULL COUNCIL VOTE - NO REPRIEVE FOR "EAST OF NUPEND"

Stroud District Council has decided where it wants to put the next generation of housing .... and its decision is to put a huge chunk of it in Eastington Parish.

The Council plans will now go out to "consultation" before going before a Government Inspector.

The final proposal from SDC is:

West of Stonehouse – 1,000 to 1,500 homes and up to 3,000 jobs.

Hunts Grove – 500 to 750 homes.

North east of Cam - 200 to 500 homes and up to 1,500 jobs.

Aston Down – 100 to 200 homes and intensive employment hubs.

Sharpness – 200 to 250 homes and intensive employment hubs.

Towns and parishes outside these areas willing to accept development can also apply to be considered.

The 1500 homes will go in the area labelled "23" on the map below.  No details are available as to where in that area building will start.  The whole area could hold over  3400 homes

Large scale developers (eg Robert Hitchen Ltd) already hold "options" on some of the land in area 23.