For at least six weeks Rushmoor Borough Council has been aware of plans from Newham Council to take over nearly all of the block of flats known as Savoy Place (the old Ham & Blackbird site) but have chosen not to disclose them until very recently when they were revealed in the media.

These plans involve cramming huge numbers of people from Newham's housing list into this unsuitable site. This move risks creating a slum right in the heart of our town.

It is also reported that Newham are on the lookout for more sites in our area and that we could see even more of this in future.

These schemes will put local services including schools, GPs, and social care under severe pressure without any additional funding.

Newham Council are failing their own residents by moving them all the way from East London to Farnborough and our town looks set to pay the price of their failures. That's why we are calling on Rushmoor Borough Council and our local MP to do their jobs and fight to protect our community, to be honest and open with residents about these plans and to lobby Central Government and Newham Council against them.

Specifically we call on Rushmoor to:

• Write to the Prime Minister and the Communities Secretary calling on them to intervene to stop this scheme and others like it.
• Write to our MP to raise the matter in Parliament.
• Publicly state our opposition to the scheme and call on Newham to abandon it and to live up to its own responsibilities.
• Publish details of all documents and meetings relating to the scheme.
• Apologise for withholding this information from residents.
• Undertake never again to withhold such information from it's own residents.
• Publish an impact assessment of the impact on all local services.

We ask you to sign this petition to play your part and help protect our local community.