No

Draft Local Plan Review

Representation ID: 1769

Received: 16/02/2017

Respondent: Mr John Outhwaite

Representation Summary:

I disagree with "Challenge G" - do think that the council should be spending time and money addressing the needs to this community

Full text:

I am submitting my comments to the Local Plan Review.

I am unable to submit my comments by your preferred method of the portal because that does not work properly, I am unable to access that (a matter which is subject to a separate complaint).

My comments are as follows

1 Firstly, the document is very long, there is no summary and it is full of jargon. In my opinion it fails the "plain English" test. It is full of obfuscation which makes it quite difficult to understand what is being proposed. If the Council really wishes to have meaningful consultation with council tax payers then there needs to be simpler communication.

Specific and general comments on the document are :-

2 I disagree with "Challenge G" - Gypsy & Traveller issues. I fundamentally object to the massively disproportionate amount of Council time and effort and council tax payers money that is expended on this very small section of the "community". These people are not part of the community, they do not wish to be part of the community, they just want to take advantage of the community.

3 Opening up of Green Belt Land around Damson Parkway/Old Damson Lane for use by JLR and other companies associated with car manufacturing. - I object to this proposal ( and I have objected to the planning submission by JLR for their LOC). There is no need for this suggested development to be immediately adjacent to the JLR plant, anywhere reasonably close would be perfectly suitable. I am very concerned by the inference in the document that because the despatch facility which has recently been built used green belt land then it is acceptable to use more green belt land for JLR convenience. That is in my view completely wrong. Obviously there was no other practical option for the despatch facility than the one approved (which I why I commented in support - with reservations - about that application).

4 New Housing developments - by the time I got to this section of the document I had already spent about an hour trying to understand earlier sections of the report, so I was beginning to lose the will to live, therefore I am not fully clear as to what is being proposed here. However I am clear that the plans for housing development, particularly affordable homes, are completely inadequate. The country as a whole faces a massive shortage in affordable housing and much more land needs to be released to provide major developments. I would much rather see further housing development around the periphery of the town than the proposed industrial development