SuperBlob 6 - The New Trimley All Saints Eco Town

SAVE FELIXSTOWE

“Anything said in Felixstowe will not predetermine my response.”

SuperBlob 6 - The New Trimley All Saints Eco Town

At their Meetings on 11 March and 2 April, as part of their response to the LDF Blobs On Maps Consultation Process, Felixstowe Town Council proposed and ratified SuperBlob 6 as a new eco-community situated between Trimley St Martin and Kirton, as a potential location for up to 4000 houses to satisfy the needs of the whole District up to and beyond the year 2024. SuperBlob 6 was agreed unanimously by all members of Felixstowe Town Council, including 9 members of SCDC, 3 SCDC Cabinet Members, 2 LDF Task Group Members including the Chairman, and 2 members of Suffolk County Council.

Political Certainties

There are a few things we can all be sure of in politics, whether it is at the top or the bottom of the political dung heap :

One : If majority Party A develops Policy X then minority Party B is genetically programmed to develop Policy Y and claim that it is better, whether it really is or not.

Two : To a greater or lesser degree most politicians have been corrupted by power, so that they will vote in order to save their jobs rather than with their consciences.

Three : When new policies are developed politicians will try and incorporate whatever buzz words are currently in fashion, and will bend over backwards to put an environmental spin on whatever they are promoting.

The Genesis Of SuperBlob 6 - March 2008

The Tories are the main political party on Felixstowe Town Council and as part of the LDF consultation process they had to decide on which of the 5 “Blobs” to choose as the location for 1620 new houses to be built on greenfield land up to the year 2024. The Liberal Democrats, being the main opposition, were therefore duty bound to come up with something different - and they did. They decided - very cleverly so they thought - that we needed a new, sustainable eco community. Eco communities now being the fashionable way to describe previously discredited planning applications and “Visions”, including the so called Trinity College “Visions” for the Felixstowe Peninsula. Therefore, at an Extraordinary Meeting on 11 March 2008 Mike Ninnmey, Lib Dem Councillor, proudly, and with much consultation of a detailed map, proposed what he called “Blob 6”, which STAG have re-christened as SuperBlob 6, being land between the A14, Kirton Road and Innocence/Croft Lane suitable for up to 4000 houses and which would support the housing needs of - no, not Felixstowe - no, not Felixstowe and the Trimleys - no, not Felixstowe, the Trimleys and Ipswich - THE WHOLE DISTRICT!

Liberal Democrat Hypocrisy

Mike Ninnmey is also a member of the LDF Task Group and should have known that locating housing for the whole District in one place contradicts the LDF’s so-called “sustainability” policy, whereby housing developments should be located near to centres of employment. The day before, the same Mike Ninnmey had attended a Suffolk Preservation Society seminar on the LDF consultation process, which was also attended by 2 STAG members. He clearly stated that he could not support the building of 1620 houses anywhere on the Felixstowe Peninsula because the infrastructure could not support such a large number. He also stated that he was only in favour of infill developments on Blob 4. But that was Monday afternoon. By Tuesday evening Mike Ninnmey had completely changed his mind!

Liberal Democrats Shot In The Foot

Normally, when Party B proposes Policy Y it is kicked into touch by Party A, but in this case the Tories could not believe their luck - “We only want 1620 houses but the Lib Dems are proposing 4000!” Andy Smith was on his feet in an instant offering to second the Lib Dem Motion. Andy Smith being, of course, Chairman of the LDF Task Group. So, it was put to the vote and SuperBlob 6 was agreed unanimously - all the Tories, 3 Liberal Democrats and Mike Deacon, the sole Labour representative.

Felixstowe Town Council Hypocrisy

Among Felixstowe Town Councillors there are 9 District Councillors, including 3 Cabinet Members, and 2 County Councillors, including one who had previously been very critical of proposals for large scale housebuilding.

At the start of the meeting Mike Deacon stood up and claimed self righteously that he could not, with a clear conscience, vote for 1620 houses anywhere on the Peninsula because the infrastructure could not cope. Mike Deacon voted for 4000 houses on SuperBlob 6.

Various other councillors stood up and self righteously claimed that in all conscience they could not vote in favour of any blobs that encroached on land around the Trimley Villages. Yet they all voted for SuperBlob 6.

In late 2006 John Goodwin wrote an article in the Felixstowe Flyer, part of which read : “The whole of south eastern England seems at present to be a housebuilding site. Every time I ask where will all these people work? I do not seem to get a very straight answer. One of the more vociferous and agitated members of STAG asked the question, ‘Are these people stupid or just corrupt?’ a question I dare not even venture to try and answer.” John Goodwin voted for SuperBlob 6.

Felixstowe Town Council Incompetence

You would think that, before voting for 4000 extra houses on the Peninsula the clever people on Felixstowe Town council would stop to think - that means 10000 people, that also means 6000 more cars. Where will they work? Where will the doctors, dentists, teachers and other key workers come from? What strain will this put on other aspects of the local infrastructure? What affect will it have on the already overcrowded A14? Did they ask these questions? No, of course not! SuperBlob 6 was approved unanimously with hardly any debate at all.

And that is not all - the Tories also proposed the adoption of Blob 4. This was approved by the Tories but voted against by the Lib Dem and Labour councillors who voted in favour of SuperBlob 6.

Why Are Felixstowe Town Councillors Incompetent Hypocrites?

These are supposedly intelligent people who were voted in on the basis of promises made on Election Manifestos. At the 11 March Meeting, and in subsequent newspaper quotes, several of them claimed that their purpose was to serve the community. So why did they all behave like the proverbial turkeys who voted for Christmas? The answer is simple - they are all politicians who have been corrupted by power. At the top of the dung heap we had Cabinet Ministers voting for war in Iraq even though they knew there were no weapons of mass destruction, because keeping their jobs was more important than sacrificing the lives of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis. At the bottom of the dung heap our self serving local politicians are motivated by the same job saving mentality. Currently there are moves towards larger unitary authorities, with more local politicians chasing fewer local council places. Sad to say, these places will probably be allocated to the councillors with the brownest noses. They will not - definitely not - be allocated to councillors who speak out against housing blight and vote with their consciences.

Trimley Villages Stabbed In The Back

As we have already said, SuperBlob 6 was proposed by a member of the LDF Task Group (Mike Ninnmey) and seconded by the Chairman of the LDF Task Group (Andy Smith). These gentlemen might claim - and even believe - that they can separate their Felixstowe Town Council and LDF Task Group thought processes. But in reality that is not possible. The LDF Task Group’s adoption as policy of SuperBlob 6 and Blob 4 is as close to a done deal as you could get, and we will be landed with 4000 plus 1620 new houses on greenfield land on the doorsteps of the Trimley Villages - and there is very little we can do about it! Mike Ninnmey and Andy Smith have already voted in favour. The two other Cabinet Members - Doreen Savage and Chris Slemmings - have already voted in favour. The other SCDC Councillors on Felixstowe Town Council have also voted in favour - including opposition members Mike Deacon and Sandra Bryant. Human nature dictates that these men and women will never speak against or vote against what they have already spoken and voted in favour of.