What is the meaning of SUSTAINABLE?

The UK Government is forcing local councils to view planning applications with "a presumption in favour of approval" providing that developments are "sustainable". So what is the meaning of "sustainable"?

In "Through the Looking Glass", Alice asked Humpty Dumpty the meaning of a word and his reply was "It means just what I choose it to mean!" and it seems that to those in Eric Pickles' Department of Community and Local Government "sustainable" comes into the same category.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council faces this problem because it has failed to have in place a local plan which meets the borough's housing targets. Richborough Estates intends to submit an application to build 117 houses on a this greenfield site on Baldwins Gate Farm. Despite all the relevant facts: that this would increase the size of the village by one third, that the school is already full, that there is no prospect of travel to work other than by car, that the sewerage system is already overloaded, that the main road through the village is well known for the number of accidents, and even that the field floods at times, they seem intent on claiming that the development is "sustainable".

Interestingly, the council DID have a plan at one time and, being very "green" in their attitudes, they set out what they see as "sustainable development"...

Sustainable development is at the heart of this Local Plan. It is enshrined in its general aim (see Introduction). Development that improves the quality of life for the residents of the area is to be encouraged so long as it is not to the detriment of the environment in other ways and does not harm the environment for future generations. The highest priority must be given to non-renewable resources: those things which if damaged or destroyed can never be replaced. All development decisions must be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the long term future is not sacrificed to short term expediency. This includes not only what is developed, but where development takes place. The pattern of development affects the way we behave; if we have to travel unnecessarily, we cause pollution and use more non-renewable resources. 

... Development that improves the quality of life for the residents of the area is to be encouraged [this does not improve the life of residents of the area which is why so many object] ... 

so long as it is not to the detriment of the environment in other ways and does not harm the environment for future generations. [It will harm the environment and will adversely affect future generations by destroying a village]... 

The highest priority must be given to non-renewable resources: those things which if damaged or destroyed can never be replaced [green fields are a none-renewable resource: once built on they cannot be returned to nature, something which the council has confirmed elsewhere]... 

All development decisions must be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the long term future is not sacrificed to short term expediency [building on this green field would reduce the need to find brown-field places to build to reach the council's housing target. That, and bowing to government pressure, is sacrificing long-term future to short term expediency]. 

This includes not only what is developed, but where development takes place. The pattern of development affects the way we behave; if we have to travel unnecessarily, we cause pollution and use more non-renewable resources. [The village of Baldwins Gate is 5 miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme, the nearest main place of employment. Public transport would never be able to fulfil the commuting requirements of people living here. Currently there is 1 bus per hour on weekdays and Saturdays so, even if this were increased four-fold which would not be financially viable, for convenience of onward travel, commuters would still travel mainly by car - "causing pollution and using more non-renewable resources"].

View our campaign website  

Say NO to development at Baldwins Gate Farm !

Britain needs thousands of new houses, so we are told. Why don't we build them in the Outer Hebrides? 

The answer is "because that is not where the houses are needed". 


Well, they are NOT NEEDED at Baldwins Gate Farm either (although the farmer who will come into millions may not agree)!


There are a total of around 350 properties in the Baldwins Gate "village envelope" of which around 10% are currently for sale. Many of these have been on the market for at least a year. Richborough Estates are proposing the building of 117 additional properties which increases the village by one third. They also suggest that a green field is the ideal location for this development despite the fact that their properties will not be in keeping with the current village properties and have a density almost double that of the ones which would be adjacent. 

They are taking advantage of a legal "loophole" which says that councils without a current development plan area required to view applications with "a presumption in favour" if developments are "sustainable". 

This development is NOT SUSTAINABLE! 

It requires all new residents to commute to work by car. Even a quadrupling of the buses would not make it convenient as a commuter location if residents were to rely on public transport, so how much "carbon footprint" would the houses have then? With every worker needing to commute a MINIMUM of 10 miles a day how much "green-house gas" will they generate?

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council prides itself on its "green credentials". It has an extremely well-developed recycling regime that is often in the news as an example to other councils. If this development is granted approval, not all the recycling in the borough would be able to compensate for the environmental damage it will do. 

There are many reasons why this development is unsustainable ... ENVIRONMENTALLY is just the first!

Read more at the website of our Action Group.

Major disruption as A53 blocked at Baldwins Gate by accident

Yet another accident in Baldwins Gate brings chaos to the A53

At around 6am a lorry carrying bales of hay collided with lamp posts and shed its load and severely damaging the lorry itself. We understand that the driver was shaken but not badly hurt.

This is the third accident in or near Baldwins Gate in less than a month. In one, a motorcyclist lost his life on Manor Road at the end of July and that road was closed for four hours.


More recently there was a collision near Station Stores which required the attendance of emergency services and traffic was backed up for at least a mile in either direction as single lane operation was temporarily brought in.

Today's incident caused major diversions affecting traffic from Newcastle, the M6, and Market Drayton directions for around 8 hours.

Normality returned around 4pm.

It seems that during the day, another small collision occurred near to the Doctors' surgery involving at least one vehicle. We do not know if anyone was injured but this brings the total accidents to 4 in a month.

The proposals by Richborough Estates for a new housing development of 117 properties on land off Gateway Avenue would probably mean at least 200 additional vehicles and double that number of entrances and exists of just residents at the junction of Gateway Avenue with the A53.

Building houses where there is no work and never likely to be work, in locations where there are poor public transport links, is NOT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

The Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's failure to develop its own housing plan means that they are vulnerable to companies like Richborough attempting to force through planning permission where they can demonstrate "sustainable development" which is why the phrase is important.

The village school is full so would need expansion BEFORE planning permission should be granted. The sewerage system in the village is overloaded so that would need expansion BEFORE planning permission should be granted.

If you wish to fight this development, join the Action Group. Sign up for more information.