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Archived Latest News
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Contents
Conservatives pledge to scrap Regional
Planning and the Regional Spatial Strategy (20/11/2008)
Local
Action Groups Meet David Cameron to express concerns (14/11/2008)
Dorset
MPs unite to fight homes plan (11/11/2008)
Bob
Walter MP backs local concerns in quarry consultation (4/11/2008)
Proposals to extract sand
and gravel from green belt land around Wimborne (23/10/2008)
Protest March to Downing
Street (8/10/2008)
Protest at Poole Civic
Centre (22/9/2008)
EDDC Ratifies Rejection of
Urban Extensions (22/9/2008)
Protest at Dorset County
Council (17/9/2008)
Protest Rally
against building on the Green Belt in Bournemouth on Sunday 14th September.
(14/9/2008)
East Dorset District Council
Policy and Resources Committee vote to reject building on green belt
(3/9/3008)
Local Man sets up e-petition on
Prime Minister’s website (31/8/2008)
Fund Raising Jumble Sale held on
Sat 8th Nov at Colehill Memorial Hall (13/8/2008)
Colehill Parish Council to
hold public meeting on 17th September to discuss the Regional
Spatial Strategy (2/8/2008)
The Secretary of State
Publishes Proposed Changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy (2/8/2008)
Regional Response to Regional
Spatial Strategy (27/6/2008)
Planning
Application for Building on Green Belt Rejected (6/5/2008)
Volunteers required for
Leaflet Distribution in summer (31/3/2008)
Colehill
Parish Council votes to reject Planning Application on green belt
(11/3/2008)
Leader of EDDC
Expresses Concern (3/3/2008)
EDDC Respond to EIP Panel’s
Report (30/1/2008)
Examination In Public Reports
(10/1/2008)
Some Good Publicity
(31/8/2007)
Examination in Public
well underway (27/5/2007)
Consultation
on the sustainable community strategy for Dorset (24/1/2007)
Barker Review Proposes
Changes To Planning Legislation (17/1/2007)
Water Voles may play a key role
in fighting development of Green belt (19/12/2006)
Coffee Morning was a great
success (11/12/2006)
Colehill Parish Council to hold
public meeting to discuss creation of a Parish Plan (27/9/2006)
Council shelves plans
to develop land off Leigh road as playing fields (27/9/2006)
Electorate Let down by the County
Council (31/8/2006)
EDDC objects to inclusion
of urban extensions in RSS (14/8/2006)
Parish
Council Objects to Playing Fields proposal (24/6/2006)
Parish
Council against green belt development (23/4/2006)
Conservation area agreed
in North Wimborne (23/4/2006)
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Conservatives pledge to Scrap
Regional Planning & RSS
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A document issued by Eric Pickles MP (Shadow
Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government) has today stated
the Conservative policy on Regional Planning.
“A
Conservative Government will abolish the undemocratic and unwieldy tier of
regional planning across England.
This will include changing the law to scrap the Regional Spatial Strategies
and Regional Planning Bodies (currently the regional assemblies, soon to be
RDAs). We will return their powers to elected local councils.”
Full Document
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Local
Action Groups
Meet David Cameron
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On Friday 14th November
representatives of the local action groups fighting the Regional Spatial
Strategy, among them Sheila Bourton from Keep Wimborne Green, met David Cameron
to express their concerns for house building in East
Dorset.
Media Story
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Dorset MPs unit to fight
homes plan
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NEARLY all of Dorset’s MPs have
signed a House of Commons paper calling on the government to scrap plans that
could see 48,100 new homes built in south east Dorset by 2026.
Six MPs signed an early day
motion urging Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and
Local Government, to “abandon entirely” the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy
(RSS).
They were: Bob Walter of North
Dorset, Robert Syms of Poole, Annette Brooke of Mid-Dorset and North Poole,
Sir John Butterfill of Bournemouth West, Christopher Chope of Christchurch
and Oliver Letwin of West Dorset.
More details from the Daily Echo Website
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Bob Walter
MP backs
local concerns
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TODAY, TUESDAY 4th OCTOBER Robert Walter MP
(North Dorset) raises his concerns over
sites put forward in the recently published Minerals Site Allocation
Document, and urges his constituents to make their voices heard.
The publication of Dorset, Poole and Bournemouth
Councils’ Minerals Site Allocation Document (MSAD) on 17th
October, which sets out possible sites for the future quarrying of building
materials, has caused almost as much controversy as the unpopular South
West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).
Following a similar timeline to the RSS, the final
result of the MSAD Discussion Paper (which forms part of the joint Minerals
and Waste Development Framework) will be a document that identifies
specific locations for mineral extraction in Dorset, and one that will
‘provide specific planning guidance throughout the plan period until 2026’.
Bob feels that those sites
identified for sand and gravel extraction in East
Dorset by landowners, consultants and mineral companies are of
particular concern - especially those at the Cannon Hill and Uddens Plantations
and several others on designated Green Belt.
Problems regarding the proximity to residential areas,
the burden on infrastructure, the protection of biodiversity and the
character of the local landscape have all already been identified in a
council-led sustainability appraisal. For this reason Bob
believes it essential that everyone who currently uses any of the proposed
sites or cares about the future of the local area takes part in the
consultation process.
Bob says:
“I am genuinely concerned about several of the
proposed sites, as even a quick glance at the online MSAD Sustainability
Appraisal document shows the negative points of the East
Dorset sites considerably outweigh the positives”.
“Many of the sites contribute enormously to the beauty
and character of this area, as well as providing important places for
recreation – something that even our area’s RSS ironically recognises as
essential to our quality of life”.
“Although this discussion process is in its very early
stages the whole point of the consultation is to gauge local opinion on the
proposals. So it is really important that as many users of the proposed
sites and affected residents take this opportunity to put forward their
views.
“The County Council is also giving a series of exhibitions
between now and 27th November where people can find out more and
put questions direct to council officers. I would definitely recommend that
affected Wimborne and Colehill residents attend their nearest event, both
of which will be held locally on 21st and 25th
November.”
See Next Section
for details…
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Proposals
for Sand and
Gravel Extraction
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There are
proposals to extract Sand and Gravel from
several sites in green belt land around Wimborne
Site
1: South of the A31 road and north
of the River Stour between Canford Bottom
roundabout and running westwards towards Wimborne.
Site
2: Cannon Hill Plantation
Site
3: Uddens
There
is only a short consultation to object to these proposals which, if
accepted, would lead to an numerous vehicle movements per day to add to the
already congested A31 and Canford Bottom roundabout and our local roads.
It
would seriously affect nearby residents with noise and pollution and would
be inappropriate development on green belt land which has important
landscape value and is home to protected animal species.
Plans for this and other sites
in Dorset can
be viewed in the following locations:
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Exhibition Dates
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Date
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Location
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Thursday 6 November 5pm-8pm
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Hurn Bridge Sports Club
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Monday 10 November 2pm-4:30pm
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St. Mark's Church Hall,
West Parley
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Thursday 13 November 10am-1:30pm
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Wareham Corn Exchange
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Monday 17 November 10am-1pm
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Swanage Library
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Tuesday 18 November 2pm-4:30pm
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Crossways Village Hall
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Wednesday 19 November 5pm-8pm
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Wareham Corn Exchange
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Thursday 20 November 12noon-3pm
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St. Luke's Church Hall, Burton
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Friday 21 November 9am-1:30pm
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Wimborne Market
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Tuesday 25 November 5pm-8pm
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Wimborne Allendale Centre
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Wednesday 26 November 5pm-8pm
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Crossways Village Hall
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Thursday 27 November 5pm-8pm
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Langton Matravers Village Hall
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Full details can be found on the Dorset
for You website at http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=389246
the related documents are MSAD Aggregate Site Assessments 1.1 and 1.2 which
can be found in the Background Papers section.
You
should then access the Minerals & Waste Consultation Portal to at http://consult.dorsetforyou.com/portal
and complete the response form.
Alternatively
write to:
Minerals
& Waste Planning Policy Team,
Dorset County Council,
Dorchester
Or
telephone: 01305-228585 for paper copies of the plans.
PLEASE NOTE, YOU ONLY HAVE
UNTIL 12TH DECEMBER TO OBJECT.
Dedicated website for
Cannon Hill campaigners
Daily Echo Interactive Map
Media Stories
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Protest
March to Downing Street
8/10/2008
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Delegations
from the 7 Dorset Action Groups and Dorset CPRE
fighting the proposed New Town at Lytchett and the 7,250 houses in the
Green Belt took their fight to Westminster
on Thursday. They held a Rally in Old Palace Yard, opposite the Palace of Westminster, waving their banners
and placards, lead by their MPs : Annette Brooke, Chris Chope and Robert Syms.
They then marched up to Downing Street to
present an 8,000 signature Petition to the Prime Minister, handed in by Tobias Ellwood MP
and Annette
Brooke MP.
“Having
won the support of all Dorset Councils, we must now convince the Secretary
of State that her unresearched, top-down dictation will do everlasting damage
to our Beautiful Green Belt and the EU protected Dorset
Heathlands,”
said Terry
Stewart, President of Dorset
CPRE
BBC TV
filmed the Protest coach leaving Upton House
in the morning, and then ITV and BBC filmed the Rally opposite the Palace of Westminster,
and also the presentation of the Petition in Downing
Street, so the Protest obtained maximum publicity.
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EDDC
Ratifies Rejection
of Urban Extensions
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A meeting
of the full EDDC held at Furzehill on the 22/9/2008 approved the proposals
by the P&R Committee (3/9/2008) to continue to object to the proposed
urban extensions in the Regional Spatial Strategy.
Minutes
of Meeting
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Protest
at Poole Civic Centre
22/9/2008
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The 7
Action Groups fighting the proposed New Town at Lytchett Minster and the
7,250 houses in the Green Belt around Poole and Bournemouth staged a
protest outside Poole’s Civic Centre on
Monday, September 22 at 1.30pm. There was a meeting of all 6 Councils in
the Consortium at 2pm to discuss the Secretary of State’s demand for 48,100
houses in the conurbation area and to build over the Green Belt. This was
followed by the key decision consensus from the Strategic Councils of
County, Poole and Bournemouth.
“This
meeting is the critical one in deciding whether our Green Belt will be
concreted over and beautiful Dorset
changed for EVER,” said Terry Stewart, President of Dorset CPRE, “we hope that Dorset
Councils support their electorate with a firm message to Hazel Blears.”
Media Coverage:
Green
Belt House-Building “Totally Unacceptable” Page 1 Page 2 (Stour and Avon
Magazine 26/9/2008)
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Protest
Outside County Hall
17/9/2008
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There
was a protest on Tuesday the 17/9/2008 outside County Hall in Dorchester to let Dorset Councillors the strength of
feeling among Green Belt campaigners in the region.
Back to the Top
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Protest Rally Against Building
on Green Belt – 14/9/2008
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On Sunday September 14 there was a Protest Rally in Bournemouth Square
at 11.30am, to hear speeches from our Dorset MPs and the CPRE on how the
housing avalanche proposed by the Regional Spatial Strategy will desecrate Dorset for ever.
Media Coverage:
Protestors Rally to Save Green Belt (Daily Echo
15/9/2008)
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EDDC P&R
Committee
Reject
Building on Green
Belt
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The members
of the East Dorset District Council Policy and Resources Committee
(3/9/3008) voted unanimously to reject the Council’s Head of Planning’s
recommendation to support the Regional Spatial Strategy’s proposals to
create urban extensions within the green belt, excepting that at the
Cuthbury Allotments which is to be used for social housing and land west of
Ferndown which is to be used for employment. This maintains their
previously stated policy of no large scale building on the green belt. This
will now go before a meeting of the full council on Sept 22nd
for ratification.
Minutes of Meeting
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e-petition set up on
Prime Minster’s Website
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Simon Churchill has set up an e-petition on
the Prime Ministers website protesting against using Green Belt to build
new homes. Please support Simon
and tell the Prime Minister what Dorset
people think about this desecration of the Green Belt by adding your name
to the petition. Enter the following URL (Address) into your Internet
Browser.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/WimborneMinster/
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Jumble
Sale on Nov 8th
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A fund raising Jumble Sale was held at Colehill Memorial Hall at 2.30 pm on
Saturday 8th November. In
spite of an extremely low turnout from local people we managed to raise
over £200 after expenses. We would
like to thank the following sponsors of our raffle:
Tesco,
Ferndown
Inn in the Tin, Ferndown
The Olive Branch, Wimborne
Esporta Health club
Ferndown Forest Golf Club
Lidyl
Friends
of Keep Wimborne
Green
A big
thank you also goes to all the volunteers who helped out on the day and
especially to the concerned resident who stopped on his way home from work
and made a donation.
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Colehill
Parish Council hold
Public Meeting
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A Public meeting was held at Colehill Memorial Hall at 7.30 pm on Wednesday
17 September 2008
 
Keep
Wimborne
Green Chairwoman
Sheila Bourton.
The
meeting was opened by Keith
Baker, the chairman of
Colehill Parish Council, who welcomed everyone and introduced the subject
and the guest speakers.
The
first speaker was Sheila
Bourton, Chair of Keep
Wimborne Green who explained the background to the Governments plans to
build thousands of new houses in the East Dorset
area and the proposed loss of valuable greenbelt land around Wimborne. She
told the assembled crowd of how these proposed plans would affect everyone
in East Dorset and in particular around
Wimborne and Colehill I.e. Lack of infrastructure, even more congested
roads, schools already over subscribed, strain on doctor’s surgeries and
local hospitals. She reminded everyone that if building is allowed on
greenbelt land, the precedent has been set and there will be even more
encroachment on these areas in the future. The public were reminded that
this was their last chance to save this community and that they should
write to the Secretary of State now to voice their objections.
Terry Stewart of CPRE then gave a slide
presentation showing what the extra proposed development would mean to
South East Dorset as a whole and he was followed by
Nick King, Bournemouth Councillor and
Parliamentary spokes man for Mid Dorset & North Poole, who reiterated
the problems facing this area and what was being done by the local councils
in response.
Annette Brooke, Lib.Dem MP for Mid Dorset
& North Poole, followed and also voiced her grave concerns regarding
the Governments development proposals, particularly on greenbelt.
Local
Colehill Councillors, Janet Dover and Don Wallace both spoke of the need to fight the RSS
proposals and Janet
Dover told the assembled
audience that she was pressing for a Judicial Review on the subject.
The
meeting ended with a question and answer session involving the 150+ strong
audience.
£117 was
raised from donations. Thank you to all those who contributed.
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Secretary
of State's Proposed
Changes to the
Draft Regional Spatial Strategy
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The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,
Hazel Blears, published the Proposed Changes
to South West’s long term plan (the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy) on 22
July 2008, which marked the start of a 12 week consultation.
The Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the Draft RSS take account of
the Examination
in Public Panel's recommendations along with representations made
about the Draft RSS and other relevant evidence.
To view the Regional Spatial Strategy Proposed Changes and to take
part in the consultation process click here. N.B. Section 4, sub-sections 4.1.51 – 4.1.56
contain the information concerning housing targets in our area.
There
have been no changes made to the recommendations made by the Examination in
Public Panel and the region still faces the prospect of large numbers of
houses being built on the green belt in East Dorset.
Read
article from Stour and Avon Magazine
(25/7/2008) Page 1 Page 2
You can also send
a letter detailing your views to:
The Regional
Spatial Strategy Team
Government
Office for the South West
2
Rivergate, Temple
Quay
Bristol
BS3 6ED
You should state that you are commenting on Section
4.7 of the Regional Spatial Strategy and section HMA 7 of the Secretary of
State’s Changes, which are the sections pertaining to South East Dorset.
The letters must
be received by them by 24th October 2008.
Your letter should include the following:
Make the letter personal; tell the RSS Team how these
developments will impact upon you.
Such as :
Ø
The proposals will change forever the
unique character of our communities.
Ø
Our infrastructure is already over
burdened, it can’t cope with development of this size. There is no new
money for Infrastructure to support all the houses.
Ø
Development on green belt sites will be
environmentally damaging and will detrimentally effect residents quality of
life greatly.
Ø
The proposals make no provision for
ensuring family housing is built.
Our area doesn’t need more flats, rather small developments of
affordable family homes to enable sustainable communities.
Ø
There is no proposal to ensure local
people, particularly those attempting to get on to the housing ladder, have
priority when considering the developments.
Ø
The proposals assume economic growth of
3.2% per annum between now and 2026, this is unrealistic and unsustainable.
The 60,000 extra cars in the conurbation will
mean Traffic Congestion Charging and Heavy Air Pollution
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Regional Response to R.S.S.
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A
meeting was held at Bournemouth
Town Hall to discuss
the region’s response to the Regional Spatial Strategy, the results of
which are expected towards the end of July. Representatives from Local
Councils, Actions Groups (including Keep Wimborne Green) and other
organisations were present.
Minutes of Meeting (PDF)
(Doc)
Daily
Echo Article (PDF)
(Doc)
Recent
Press Release PDF DOC
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Planning
Application Rejected
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The Planning
Application for 61 dwellings on Green Belt adjacent to 5 Heath Close has
been rejected by the Planning Department of East Dorset District Council.
Please
refer to the article in Stour and Avon Magazine for more details.
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Volunteers
required for
Leaflet Distribution
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Please would you and your neighbours consider
helping us in our fight to save Greenbelt
from development by distributing leaflets in your area? These leaflets will
advertise a Public Meeting in Colehill when the Secretary of State responds
to the Panel Report on the government's plans to build 1000's of new
dwellings on Greenbelt
around us.
If you can give up a little of your time
(probably in the summer) please email us at info@keepwimbornegreen.co.uk
with details of your name, address and contact number.
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Colehill Parish
Council Rejects Application
to Build on Green Belt
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The
Colehill Parish Council met at the Colehill Memorial Hall on Tuesday 11/3
to consider the Planning application to build 61 new dwellings on land
adjacent to 5 Heath Close. A packed hall heard the Parish Council vote to
recommend the application be rejected by EDDC. The application will be considered by the
EDDC Planning and Resources committee at a meeting in April,
date and time to be advised.
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Leader of EDDC Expresses
Concern
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The
Leader of the East Dorset District Council Derek Burt has written to Hazel Blears
to express the Council’s concern over the EIP Panel’s recommendations.
Link to Council Website
Newspaper
Report (40 KB)
Text of Letter
(7 KB PDF)
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EDDC Respond to EIP Report
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The
East Dorset District Council Policy and Resources Committee met on the 30th
January to discuss their response to the Examination In Public Panel’s
report on the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West. The detailed response can be found below.
EDDC Response (246 KB)
Minutes of
Meeting (70 KB)
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Examination In Public Reports
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The Enquiry in Public Panel’s report on the Draft
Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West was published on 10th
January and does not make good reading. If you wish to read it in full it
is on the SWRA website and runs to hundreds of pages.
Draft South West RSS Examination in Public Panel Report
Basically, the Panel does not accept the
democratically taken decision by East Dorset District Council NOT to build
on greenbelt areas around Wimborne and has decided that the areas of search
should be taken OUT of greenbelt to allow building.
Further than that, the panel toured the area and
concluded that there was scope to build outside the areas previously
identified and have also asked for a further 1000 houses to be built in the
East Dorset area! Obviously this will cause great concern and uncertainty
amongst the public because who knows which other fields around us will fall
prey to the developers.
The Panel seems to have taken no account of the
constraints of the area (roads, schools, health facilities etc.) and have
suggested road charging and increases in parking fees to dissuade motorists
from car travel. How else can
workers travel to employment centres if not by car? Bus services are
abysmal and we have no rail link.
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Some Good Publicity
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We
have received some welcome publicity, highlighting both our local campaign
and the general cause of protecting Green Belt throughout Dorset
(Daily Echo 31/8).
Bill Bryson’s (CPRE President) recent
visit to Bournemouth has also created some
additional publicity (Daily Echo 7/9).
Refer
to the Media page for full articles.
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Examination In Public In
Progress
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The
Examination in Public (EIP) began on the 17th April and will
finish on the 6th July, with the Panel due to report to the
Secretary of State in October. The EIP is taking place in Exeter so is extremely difficult for
local people to attend. The matters concerning the Urban Extensions in and
around Wimborne will be discussed on the 7th, 8th and
12th June. See pages 31/32 of Final Programme for details of questions being placed
before the Panel and organisations making statements before the Panel. Full
details of the EIP can be found on their website at http://www.southwesteip.co.uk.
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Consultation on
the Sustainable
Community Strategy for Dorset
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On the Dorset County Council website - http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=360865
you will find “Shaping Our Future - Consultation on The Sustainable
Community Strategy for Dorset".
Dorset County Council would like as many people
as possible to complete the questionnaire, sending their answer by mail or
email to Bournemouth
University, who will
analyse the results for them. No names or addresses needed; all replies are
anonymous. The DCC paper is long and jargon ridden, soft on facts and
strong on hopes, and promises all things to all men. BUT.......the serious
part of it is its drive to build a lot more affordable high density houses
in Dorset, many in green belt sites.
MAY I URGE EVERYONE
TO FILL IN THE CONSULTATION FORM AND SEND IT IN.
The easiest way to do it is to print out the
consultation form, and fill it in while reading the 62 page(!) paper on the
computer. The other way is to ring Zoe Rumney
at DCC at 01305 224409 and ask for the document and the questionnaire to be
sent to you by post. We have until 11 March to reply. The main thing
to hammer home in your own words is that their TOP priority should be
the preservation of Dorset's environment,
which is the reason we all came here, and what makes Dorset what it is. Subject to that, and as
far as fits in with it, and where the local public agrees, they can build
some houses. BUT THEY HAVE TO PUT INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING IN PARALLEL WITH HOUSE BUILDING , OR
THEY DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT. A lot more houses without roads, parks,
schools, shops and leisure facilities turn the area into a sink. Look what
has happened in Verwood.
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Barker Review Proposes Changes
Planning Legislation
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The Treasury has decided that the planning system is a barrier to business.
They want to remove what they see as obstacles – including you and your
community getting involved.
Our town and country
planning system plays a crucial role in protecting our environment and
communities. We believe that involvement from local people improves the
decisions made and is the key to successful developments. We work to
safeguard your rights and to protect your environment.
The Treasury has
carried out a series of reviews, including the Barker review, on land-use
planning. They have recommended major changes to the planning system –
cutting you out of the picture.
If the recommendations
from these reviews are implemented, it could mean:
- Reducing
public involvement in inquiries to speed up
major projects
- Increased
domination of supermarkets in town centres
at the expense of local shops
- Reducing
your right to have a say in plans
- Wildlife,
habitats and green belts under threat
from development
The land use planning
system is the powerful and effective form of environmental and social
regulation ever introduced in the UK. We need to protect our
rights to be involved in local decision-making – but we need your help.
Take
action
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Water Voles May Help Fight
Development
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To
help us save the greenbelt fields around our homes we are asking you to pay
particular attention to any sightings of water vole in or around the fields
and streams of this area. They are a protected species and it is known that
they have been seen in the fields to the west of “By the Way “.
For
your information and to assist identification, the water vole is about the
same size as a brown rat but differs in as much as it has a chubby face
with a blunt nose and short furry ears almost hidden in its dark brown fur.
Its eyes are situated near the top of its head to assist the animal when
swimming. Unlike the rat, it is completely harmless.
If you
should see any water vole, please take note of the place, time and date of
the sighting and let us know immediately at info@keepwimbornegreen.co.uk
in order that the sighting can be recorded by the Dorset Environmental
Records Centre in Dorchester.
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Coffee Morning
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The recent coffee morning held to raise funds
was a great success with a total of £117 being raised.
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Public Meeting
to discuss
Parish Plan
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Colehill
residents are being given the chance to have a say in the future of their
community. Councillors are encouraging everyone to come along to a public
meeting to discuss the possibility of drawing up a Parish Plan for the
village. The meeting will be at 7.00 pm at the Memorial Hall on Wednesday
18th October. Representatives of the parish council and Dorset
Community Action will be present.
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Council Shelves Playing Field
Development
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At a
recent meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee (27/9/2006) it was
decided to postpone indefinitely any plans to develop the land off Leigh Road as
playing fields. An alternate proposal by the consultancy firm PMP was
accepted which was a scaled down version of the more recent proposal but as
the 2.5 million capital cost of the project is unavailable, at least for
the foreseeable future, the project has been shelved. Details of the meeting and associated
documents can be found at http://www.eastdorset.gov.uk/democracy/cme/details.asp?ID=1179.
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Electorate Let Down by
County Council
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The Dorset
County Council approved their submission to the RSS, favouring the massive
housing developments outlined in the Draft RSS, in a Cabinet meeting (12/7)
prior to the extraordinary meetings held by both Christchurch and East Dorset District
Councils (14/8). There were no extraordinary meetings as in East Dorset and
Christchurch
and there was no public debate in the full council.
CPRE are urging the County Council
to meet to consider the RSS. It is important that the County Council
recognises the depth of feeling held by the residents of East Dorset as
they are likely to be one of the authorities called before the Examination
in Public held in the spring. Up to the present time both the Leader and
Chief Executive of the council have refused to hold any further meetings to
discuss their representations to the RSS and state that if called to the
Examination in Public will continue to propose the use of urban extensions
for housing development.
Please
contact your County
Councillor and remind
them that they represent your views on the County Council.
Who is your County Councillor?
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EDDC Objects to Urban Extensions
in Draft RSS
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The
East Dorset District Council Policy and Resources Committee met on
Wednesday 9/8/2006 at The Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne to consider
their recommendations to the Council concerning the Council’s submission to
the Independent Panel of Inspectors. The meeting was held at the School
rather than the normal committee rooms in Furzehill as there was a large
number of people expected to attend.
There were a number of presentations to the committee from local
action groups, including Keep Wimborne Green, Keep Corfe Mullen Green and
Keep Parley Cross Green. There were also presentations from the CPRE and
from a number of local councillors. All of the presentations except one
from a consortium of landowners were asking the council to object to the
inclusion of greenbelt for use as “urban extensions” in the Regional
Spatial Strategy.
There
were a total of 35 recommendations (compiled by the Planning Department)
being made to the Independent Panel of Inspectors which were either
supporting or objecting to various parts of the Draft SS. The committee was being asked to approve
these recommendations.
Recommendations to the Panel on the Draft RSS (147K
PDF)
Items
22, 23 and 24 in Appendix 1 deal with the urban extensions at Corfe Mullen,
Wimborne and Parley Cross respectively. The committee was recommended to
continue to support the inclusion of these search areas in the RSS.
However, the committee voted unanimously to object to the inclusion of the
urban extension at Corfe
Mullen and there was a
majority vote to object to the inclusion of the area South of Ferndown
(Parley Cross). The debate on item 23 (Wimborne) was a little more extended
with the Councillors representing the Colehill wards wanting a distinction
between the area North of Wimborne i.e. Colehill and that to the West of
Wimborne. In the end a form of words was agreed which meant that the urban
extension at Burts Hill was objected to but that on the allotments at The
Cuthbury was supported (sorry allotment holders but your time may be
limited).
The
full council met at Furzehill on Monday (14/9/2006) to consider the
recommendations of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting of the 9th
August 2006 as described above. The
document attached below is the revised schedule which also shows voting
behaviour.
Revised Submission
Document (90K PDF)
All
the recommendations made by the P&R Committee were approved. There was
a small number of councillors who bravely argued for the exclusion of the
allotments as well on the basis that all greenbelt land should be preserved
but were unable to persuade a large enough portion of their fellow councillors
to carry the vote.
We at
Keep Wimborne Green are very pleased that our councillors have recognised
the need and the wish of the majority of residents to preserve the
greenbelt in East Dorset and that developments on the scale proposed in the
RSS are completely unsustainable. We would like to thank all those
councillors who voted to object to the inclusion of the “urban extensions”
in the RSS, it is a pity they were ever included in the first place.
Looking
on the black side it is quite possible that the Panel of Inspectors will
reject EDDC’s objections and continue to press for large housing
development in the greenbelt. The
fight is a long way from over.
Minutes of P&R Committee Meeting 9/8 (15K PDF)
Minutes of the Full Council Meeting (14/8) (18K PDF)
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Parish Council
Objects to
Playing Field Proposal
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We are extremely happy to hear that Colehill Parish Council have voiced
their objections to the proposals to develop the greenbelt land north of Leigh Road as
playing fields. Refer to details of
proposal below.
The objections were reported in the Avon Advertiser. News
story (293K PDF).
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Parish
Council Against Greenbelt
Development
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The
Colehill Parish Council have sent a letter (15/4) to the Chief Executive of
the South West Regional Assembly registering their “strong opposition” to
development of greenbelt land within the Parish of Colehill.
The
text of the letter is as follows:
“Colehill Parish Council has
considered the recommendations contained in the Regional Spatial Strategy
with particular reference to recommendations for future housing development
in the Wimborne/Colehill area.
It is understood that public
consultation on the strategy will commence shortly. The purpose of this
letter is to register the Parish Council’s strong opposition to any
development on Green Belt land within this Parish.”
We
should like to congratulate our council on this letter and we ask everyone
to continue to press the Parish Councillors to actively support this
campaign and to produce a Parish Plan to ensure that this development does
not happen.
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New Conservation Area Agreed
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At a recent (20/4) meeting
of the East Dorset District Council Policy and Resources Committee a
resolution was passed to accept proposals for a new conservation area in
Colehill to the North of Wimborne. This area’s northern boundary runs just
north/West of Burt’s Hill and extends eastward
in a triangle to include Smugglers
Lane and Merrifield
with a southern boundary at Cobb’s Road.
The reason for this new area
is to preserve a unique area of historic interest and historic landscape
and to give some degree of control over any changes to or demolition of
houses, trees etc..
Consultations will take
place with:
·
Holt and
Colehill Parish Councillors
·
Individual Householders and interested
parties
·
Dorset
County Council
·
Wimborne Civic Society
·
Wimborne Town Council
We understand that the new
conservation area will in no way affect
the plans for housing development as referred to in the Regional
Spatial Strategy.
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