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Muddled Messages?

Yesterday, the Chancellor stressed the importance of meeting ever more stringent emissions and environmental targets; Tonight I peddled to an exhibition of proposed plans for thousands of new houses which will mean many thousands of extra car journeys.

Apparently, Whitehall ordered the “regional assembly” to order our “district council” to allocate sites for housing. But, that was before the current fears over “climate change.”

However, there seems to be no mechanism for re-examining whether the original targets are “sustainable” in an era of ever tighter controls on emissions and the increasing need to grow more of our food.

The brief online consultation is about the fine detail rather than the overall concept. There’s no mechanism for influencing or re-examining the original decision.

My agricultural area has become a “dormitory.” Residents now have to commute further and further in order to retain employment; many by jam-packed train to London, but most by car. The few buses don’t serve the local railway stations so most people travel even there by car.

The population of these “urban villages” has expanded greatly but the number of local jobs has declined: Currently, three new housing estates are even being built on former industrial estates. The few remaining light industrial businesses expect that complaints from the new residents over noise etc. will soon force them to close.

Local towns were planned as economically self-sufficient industrial centres, but most of the industrial jobs have now gone; replaced by fewer, lower grade, service jobs.

All other facilities are beyond walking distance or are over-subscribed. So again, people travel by car.

All utilities are overloaded. We’ve had at least five power-cuts – so far – this Winter including one which lasted for over 22 hours. At least two were caused when the ancient overloaded underground cable literally burnt-out and broke in half, twice within 100 yards.

So, not much spare capacity for re-charging electric cars!

Most new houses lack suitable space for efficient working from home. There’s very little provision for children or teenagers. There are growing problems with groups of youngsters.

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However, government insists that we find space for thousands of extra houses, by building on the fertile farmland, at the very time when world food prices are rising.

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This consultation is being run by a PR firm, mostly as an online process. Tonight’s exhibition was organised to help the “web-phobic” to respond. I went hoping to talk to a real planner, but discovered that I’d simply been talking to PR.

Peddling back in the dark was also too exciting: The bypass was blocked so fast, frantic traffic was diverted through our narrow village roads.

Wibbis:

1. If we are serious about “climate change” all major projects should be re-assessed for their impact and be stopped unless they comply.

2. Consultations should not be just a PR exercise of “selling” Whitehall diktats.

3. There should be a proper mechanism for passing comments “upwards” in order to influence Whitehall policy.

4. Better infrastructure should be provided to support the existing population, let alone any increase in population. Recent building has over-stretched it.

5. No more houses should be built in this area until there is a good quality local job available for at least one person per household.

Published by Richard S on 14/03/08 at 12:15am

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