LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK TASK GROUP NEWS

SAVE FELIXSTOWE

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK TASK GROUP NEWS

Meetings of the LDF Task Group are held at SCDC Headquarters in Woodbridge, and it is hoped that all meetings will be attended by, and reported on, by members of STAG. TheChairman of the LDF Task Group is Councillor Andy Smith, who represents Felixstowe South East, and is also Deputy Leader of the Council. Richard Kerry, who represents the Trimley Villages is also a member.

“Brownfield sites will be developed first - end of story”

Local Development Framework Task Group Meeting 23 July 2007

Trimley Villages To Become “Extended” Key Service Centres To Allow For Felixstowe Housing And Employment Growth

There were 10 District Councillors who attended this meeting as member of the LDF Task Group. In the audience were two Trimley District Councillors - Sherrie Green and Graham Harding. There were also Bryan Frost and Mary Dixon from Trimley St Mary Parish Council, plus Berridge Eve and Joe Smith from Trimley St Martin Parish Council, plus Carl Storer, Mike and Barbara Shout, Rosemary Gitsham and Ian Cowan from STAG.

The Theme of the Meeting was “Settlement Hierarchy”, but the first 30 minutes was devoted to a seemingly rehearsed set piece between Andy Smith and Stephen Brown on the subject of the Sustainability Appraisal, where objectors would have to demonstrate that a mistake had been made by the LDF Task Group - that something was wrong and had failed one or more of the nine Sustainability Tests. The job of an Inspector would not be to decide on housing locations but the decision making process regarding reasonableness, having considered all the possible alternatives.

Stephen Brown then pointed out that it must be recognised that the Trimley Villages have the potential to accommodate further development, since they are part of a growth area for housing and employment. Their difference from other Key Service Centres is that they are related to Felixstowe, and on that basis he had suggested a new category within the Settlement Hierarchy to take account of these alleged differences.

Stephen Brown then went on to discuss the policy of infilling in small villages and hamlets, for example where these was a gap between houses in a cluster of homes. Since this hamlet was not sustainable then infilling would be discouraged. Sustainability was defined as the distance from shops, schools and employment. This Disneyland vision of the District was justified on the grounds that housebuilding in small villages and hamlets would not protect the countryside, would erode that hamlet’s character, and would invite its inhabitants to use their cars.

Councillor Ivan Jowers, from Little Bealings, made the very valid point that his village is designated as “countryside” in the Settlement Hierarchy, and thus unsustainable and not eligible for housebuilding, but was only 1.5 miles from an industrial estate. This was, in his opinion, inconsistent, and housebuilding would take the pressure off other places, including the Trimley Villages. This point was dismissed by Andy Smith, as were many others, and it became clear very quickly that he was determined to steer the Meeting towards his aim of upgrading the Settlement Hierarchy status of the Trimley Villages in order to pave the way for large scale housing developments. Following on from Councillor Jowers’ comments Richard Kerry asked whether villages would be allowed to increase their envelopes if this was what they wanted. Stephen Brown replied that this would depend on a sustainability appraisal. There was considerable discussion on the concept of sustainability, with an apparent consensus that more flexibility was needed to allow for some housebuilding in the smaller villages and hamlets.

The status of Wickham Market was then discussed. Because of its size and “sustainability” Wickham Market was eligible for the designation of Market Town, but their Parish Council wanted them to remain as a Key Service Centre. Stephen Brown stated that they knew themselves and their needs better than anyone else so he agreed that they would stay as a Key Service Centre.

Sherre Green then came to our defence by stating that in terms of size and facilities the Trimley Villages could not be compared to Wickham Market, and asked why we were being shown less favour than they were. Stephen Brown’s reply was that the Trimley Villages were different because of their proximity to Felixstowe - Since you have to look at where growth would occur you must therefore look at the Trimley Villages. Andy Smith dismissed Sherrie’s argument by pointing out rather condescendingly that there was no BT Research Centre at Wickham Market, nor was there a Wickham Market Docks.

Neither Graham Harding nor Richard Kerry gave Sherrie any support while she was trying to fight the cause of the Trimley Villages. In fact throughout the Meeting Graham was the perfectly behaved schoolboy - being neither seen nor heard.

When it came to taking the vote, Andy Smith ignored the lengthy discussions about flexibility, ignored the inconsistencies, ignored Sherrie’s pleas on behalf of the Trimley Villages and proposed that the LDF Task Group accepted the principal of an amended Settlement Hierarchy whereby, among other things, the Trimley Villages become extended Key Service Centres, linked to Felixstowe to allow for housing and employment growth. The only concession he made was that the definitions within the Settlement Hierarchy would be better described.

A few Councillors half heartedly raised their hands and the LDF Task Group moved on to other matters. It was observed that when it came to this vote Richard Kerry’s hands remained bravely and firmly glued to the table.

Local Development Framework Task Group Meeting 20 July 2007

This Meeting was partly a formality to introduce new members to the workings of the Task Group, and it started off with two “easy” consultation themes - the overall “Vision” and the “Town Vision.”

Councillor Smith asked Stephen Brown several questions, which he already knew the answers to, to confirm that -

·	The base date for the 15 year housing period to be planned for was 31 March 2007.

·	This would take the end date up to 2022 instead of 2021.

·	When the Core Strategy is considered by an Inspector in 2009 he will expect the base date to be 2009.

·	The government is encouraging local councils to plan for more than a 15 year period.

STAG Comment : It would be flattering to think that these comments were made for the benefit of STAG members in the audience, since we had already predicted that they would go beyond the 15 year period in order to ensure that large scale housing developments around Felixstowe and the Trimley Villages could be justified.

It was reported by Stephen Brown that the STAG and Trimley St Martin Parish Council written submissions would be “reported comprehensively” See correspondence on the STAG News Page for background to this.

Much to our surprise, we were flattered to receive a compliment from Councillor Smith, in that he singled out a criticism STAG had made that the infrastructure implications of large scale housing developments had not been considered. He went on to concede that infrastructure in all its forms - roads, education, medical facilities, etc - had not been given sufficient consideration in the first draft of the Core Strategy.

STAG Comment : It is to be assumed that the elected representatives and paid officials who attend LDF Meetings are clever men and women. In which case it beggars belief that, between the lot of them, it didn’t cross anyone’s mind that if thousands of new homes were built there would be serious infrastructure implications. But maybe it is not surprising after all - these are the same people who think it is acceptable to undertake a consultation exercise using housing statistics that are three years old, who thought no one would notice when they tried to turn the Trimley Villages into suburbs of Felixstowe, and who seem to think that thousands of new houses will be occupied by thousands of workers who will flood in to the District to fill thousands of new jobs at Felixstowe Docks and elsewhere.