There is enormous and increasing pressure from central government to build new homes. We feel that building these new homes is important, but must we sacrifice heritage and the environment for homes, or can we have both? We believe we need to protect our historic built architecture from demolition, and our mature trees that keep the air we breath clean from being uprooted. We want to have a say in what is going on around us, feel that we are being ignored, and want to join forces with people all around the country who feel the same. Unfortunately, we do not think we are alone. This campaign has started in response to a high density development and concerns of our Resident's Association that the trees and buildings we have grown so fond of will be destroyed to make way for blocks of flats. We welcome your support, if you are experiencing similar difficulties where you live, make contact with our campaign and share your experiences and best practice tips, and if you are a political representative let your electorate know how important you think their say should be in planning applications and that you are committed to a planning policy that is sustainable and protective of the environment.
Please get in touch with us now on ukfrra@googlemail.com. Residents Rule OK?
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3 comments:
Cambridge City Council has a policy on public consultation which is currently in draft form. I have a copy which I'm reading and about to comment on.
When I'm finished I'll pass it on to you.
To my mind the big issue is that local councils feel unempowered to do much about agressive developers because central government rules forbid them, force them into short timescales for approval and also cap their ability to spend money on staffing up such activities.
So you are probably right. Direct action by residents in co-operation with well-motivated councillors and officers is probably the only answer to preserving the best of our built environment.
And this need not be ancient buildings and mature trees. Nice streetscapes, sensitively designed housing from the 50s and 60s and safe quiet spaces for kids to play in are important too.
Paul
I completely agree with what you've said. The common theme seems to be ordinary citizens find it hard to go up against huge interests in consultations, it is about more than just trees, its about wanting to feel we will have a good quality of life and I expect it could apply just as well to big supermarkets and inappropriate shopping centre developments as it can to high density residential developments.
It's the idea of "riding roughshod"
>To my mind the big issue is that >local councils feel unempowered to >do much about agressive developers >because central government rules >forbid them, force them into short >timescales for approval and also cap >their ability to spend money on >staffing up such activities.
Agreed. But what do you do? I'm scared to go up against a large developer, it's a big interest and I don't want to end up getting sued even if I don't agree about all the decisions being made in my area.
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