Vote Conservative? Never again!

Conservatives

Building a Britain where EVERYONE WHO 

WORKS HARD can own a HOME OF THEIR OWN!

... and when you've worked hard, and bought

a home of your own, in a place you would like to live

for the rest of your days, in peace and tranquil

surroundings, 

THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT

brings in the NPPF so that, if your local council officers

have failed to do their job properly, 

(ie through no fault of your own),

your retirement can be ruined by developers

building unwanted, unneeded houses

right next to you, causing chaos and disruption

to the peace you had worked hard for, and reducing

the equity you have in the property on which

you may have been relying to finance your 

care in later years.

Poor Bill Cash, MP, has worked hard for his

constituents over many years but the party

he represents shows themselves to be

totally inconsiderate of the supporters

who have put them into power and, as a result,

he will lose many of those supporters.

This scenario will be repeated over many

rural constituencies and if conservative 

MPs lose their seats, as a result, it will be

the present Government to blame and not

those MPs themselves.

Yet another Accident closes A53 in Baldwins Gate

Wednesday 30th April saw the A53 through Baldwins Gate, Staffordshire, completely blocked yet again by another serious accident with tailbacks stretching over a mile in each direction. This is the latest in a long list of accidents on the A53 in the area, ranging from minor to fatal.

Baldwins Gate Action Group successfully campaigned against a development of 113 houses on prime agricultural land in the village which would only add to the high volume of traffic which is faced daily by the residents.

Councillors on the Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Planning Committee visited the site and concluded that everything we had said about this dangerous road was true. With the village's lack of infrastructure and facilities, they agreed that such a development was totally unsustainable and not in the interests of the residents or the Borough. 

UNANIMOUSLY, the councillors rejected the application by Richborough Estates, a company which did not intend to develop land the land but rather sought to obtain planning permission in order to share in the increased value of the land once sold to a developer. Some would class these as simply land speculators trying to cash in on the current confusion in the planning system caused by poorly drafted legislation in the National Planning Policy Framework - NPPF. 

Despite their development being shown as unsuitable and against the interests of the village, they have stated that it is their intention to appeal and this is currently awaited.

Preserving Farmland

Baldwins Gate Action Group - Stop development at Baldwins Gate Farm!

Richborough Estates have submitted a planning application in to build on the field in the foreground.

The field is only used as pasture …… according to Richborough. 

Presumably potatoes don't count! Although taken a few years ago, this photograph from Bing Maps shows the potatoes in half the field. The other half, nearest the houses, was "set-aside" which all goes to prove that, as Grade 1 & 2 farmland, a farmer could use this field to grow anything ... or even NOTHING if the Government grants incentivise him.

The field IS currently used to grow fodder and as pasture but in the past it has also grown maize (for cattle but could also grow varieties for human consumption), wheat and potatoes.

Resolution 42/187 of the United Nations General Assembly defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

In a country that already is unable to feed itself, it is imperative that, in the interests of sustainability, the best farm land should not be built upon. Once covered in bricks and tarmac, this field will be lost forever to future generations.

Learn more about our campaign to stop this destruction of a finite natural resource.

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