Dear Friends,
Very important Local Elections are taking place all over Elmbridge on May 6. The Local Councillors we elect on May 6 will be responsible for putting together a new Local Plan. This new Local Plan will decide on how much new construction work will be allowed throughout Elmbridge. At present, this building target stands at a totally unsustainable figure of 9,500 new dwellings over the next 15 years. Such an enormous figure will desecrate the Borough and wreck Thames Ditton / Weston Green.
You agree that this wrecking over-development must not be allowed to continue since you are among over 1,750 voters who have either signed our petition and / or are one of 290 voters who have joined our Group!
What happens to Elmbridge after May 6 ? Which of the political parties standing in the Election will be listening to the voters of Elmbridge and drastically cutting these construction numbers? The Local Plan will determine whether Elmbridge is going to become more and more over-developed and turn into just another London-style Borough; it will decide whether Elmbridge will become more and more available simply for profit-driven developers to exploit; and it will decide whether or not our precious Green Belt is going to be protected.
The signs at present are not good. At present, Elmbridge is run by an alliance of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Councillors from Residents’ Associations (such as in Thames Ditton and Weston Green), together with various Independent Councillors. They have a narrow majority over the Conservatives. This LibDem/Resident Association alliance has failed to deliver a Local Plan, so allowing uncontrolled over-development to continue. Many claim that their hands are tied because construction numbers are imposed on them by Central Government. In actual fact, this is untrue. A Local Plan is a matter for the individual Local Authority to decide for itself. Furthermore, the data on which the current construction numbers are based is flawed and out of date. (The 3-page AERC report explaining this in detail is available on our Facebook page.)
The Conservative party is not in power. But it says that if it comes to office it will reduce by half the building numbers of 9,500 over 15 years. That is a good start -- but does it go far enough to stop the desecration of Elmbridge? And with their links to big construction companies can the Conservatives be trusted to deliver on drastically reducing over-development?
As far as the Green Belt is concerned, all the current elected political parties promise they will protect the Green Belt. But when push comes to shove, will the massive pressure to deliver the current entirely unrealistic high construction numbers be so intense that they will cave-in to the demands of profit-driven developers to release Green Belt land for more development?
Many people rightly say that there is a shortage of so-called affordable housing. True enough, but the delivery of a rational Local Plan does not in any way remove the ability to deliver a sensible level of such housing.
Here in Thames Ditton and Weston Green we face a difficult choice. All the candidates from all the parties for the Borough Elections are new, unknown people with little or no track record. It’s a level playing field of candidates. Can these unknowns be relied on and do they have the strength of resolve and independence of mind to now work to deliver a Local Plan on behalf of their voters that truly protects Elmbridge and Thames Ditton / Weston Green from the threat of disastrous over-development?
Thames Ditton and Weston Green has had Residents’ Association Councillors for many decades. Many have done good local work and they are devoted to the place itself. But even so, we have recently seen rapid acceleration of excessive over-development in Thames Ditton / Weston Green, and as far as the “big picture’ of the Local Plan for Elmbridge is concerned, the Residents’ Association Councillors have been found severely wanting. They are part of a ruling political alliance with the Lib Dems that has not delivered a Local Plan to protect the voters of Elmbridge.
All things considered, therefore, we would very much have liked to have been able to endorse one particular party in Thames Ditton / Weston Green for the Elmbridge Borough Local Elections. But in all conscience we cannot.
As far as the Surrey County Council Elections also on May 6 are concerned, the picture is rather different. The County Council is not responsible (rightly or wrongly) for planning matters. The Conservative Party has a huge majority. As a matter of healthy democracy, we therefore are happy to endorse the current Dittons Councillor Nick Darby, who is also currently Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council. Outside his hard work on his Surrey portfolio, Nick has also involved himself closely in local campaigns against over-development – particularly in the complicated saga of the proposed 26-house development at “Merrywood’ on Weston Green.
All the political parties contesting the Local Elections on May 6 claim that they are “green”. Clearly this is a recognition of the fact that green issues are now absolutely at the very centre of the local, national and global agenda. Our fight to resist increasing destructive over-development is part of this very same requirement for a new local, national and global green agenda. It is very easy for any political party to claim it is “green”. But you have to prove you are “green” by your actions.
Final thought: it could be a very healthy thing for our democracy in Surrey to have the different perspective of some Green Party voices among the new intake. To add their voices to the discussion could be refreshing indeed.
Thank you.
Tony
www.change.org/stopwreckingthamesditton