Local Plan: Letters
HBM
Infrastructure is under threat
South Canterbury infrastructure is already overloaded with the current rapid rise in house building, with many of these houses unsold. Gridlock on pot-holed roads, sewage overflows and power cuts.
Once again the city council is being charmed by builders to give them precious greenfield sites to cram in maximum high-priced houses for their own high profits.
The farmland opposite Langton Boys' Grammar was sold to a builder some time ago and because the land can only be used for educational use, the builder has offered to build a new school - in return for consent to build on the existing Girls' Grammar School site, which has recently had a lot of ratepayers' money spent on it.
Add to this all the other proposed houses to be built in South Canterbury, stretching to the Bridge bypass, and this will result in a complete infrastructure breakdown. What a surprise that this proposal was not published until after the local elections!
Listen to your ratepayers who fund your salaries for once and stop this crazy plan to move the school.
J.C. Rogerson, Nackinqton Road, Canterbury
A sad dismissal of community
I was very interested to read Bob Britnell's response to my call for the Local Plan to be community-led and for a pause to allow for proper community input. I have always much respected Mr Britnell's straightforwardness and I genuinely believe he means well, but his rather dismissive assessment of community involvement is very sad indeed.
The Canterbury Society's recent and excellent document The Future of our City clearly illustrates that a very positive contribution can be made by community groups.
Also, the National Planning Policy framework actually requires substantial public engagement in the plan-making exercise. It clearly stresses that 'early and meaningful engagement and collaboration with neighbourhoods, local organisations and business is essential. A wide section of the community should be proactively engaged, so that the Local Plan, as far as possible, reflects a collective vision...'
Moreover, I wonder if Mr Britnell has actually read the final report of the Mori poll of residents which he cites, as it is fully in tune with the intelligent community and amenity societies that he seems to admire and yet decry.
As the summary findings unequivocally state regarding more house-building and the comparison with present rates of construction: "the majority support building in principle but most prefer same/slower pace".
This is directly at odds with the Preferred Option Local Plan which is premised throughout on the basis of a much higher level of house building.
Finally, it is my strong conviction that the most robust Local Plan will be a truly community-forged one.
Rev Paul Wilson, Clare Road, Whitstable
An additional 4,000 houses planned alongside New Dover Road is a major issue for Canterbury and not one to be regarded as just too big a ship to be turned or for members of the public to be intimidated by rhetoric. It is apparent that central government sees house building as a way to stimulate the economy and is putting pressure on local councils to comply.
House building provides employment for the building industry during the course of construction and some maintenance work thereafter.
However, one would have thought a much better strategy would be to concentrate on the creation of industries that will produce income, provide long-term employment and manufacture goods and services that can either be exported or that will reduce the amount of goods being imported into the country.
Employees need housing but there is limited benefit to having housing without the creation of businesses for the employees to work.
What I would like to see is an independent detailed and factual environmental study of the impact of this proposed housing development. We saw recently with the Westgate Towers trial that what appeared to be a small change in traffic flows gridlocked Canterbury for almost a year, and since the trial ceased it is like someone has waved a magic wand.
Building 4,000 houses on the edge of Canterbury is not a trial that can be reversed and I feel it will take a bit more than bypassing the Sturry Road level crossing and a fast bus service into Canterbury to prevent permanent gridlock of traffic in and around the city. What is interesting is that in his report to the planning committee on the proposed crematorium near the University of Kent, council officer Cullum Parker drew attention to the potential impact of the site on traffic. I would suggest that if traffic from this site will pose a problem it will be nothing compared with the impact on traffic of 4,000 additional houses.
John Morgan, Church Lane, Kingston
HB Gazette 30th May 2013
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