NORTH MYMMS DISTRICT GREEN BELT SOCIETY
Newsletter
No. 35 – February 2007
Diary dates
Our AGM
at Brookmans Park United Reformed Church.
See below
for details NM Memorial
Hall. Our 22nd Michaelmas
Lunch. Tickets available
via our Secretary in September. |
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New President Bob
Wilson moved away in 2006, and stood down after 24 years as our President. We
are delighted that Gary Mabbutt MBE has agreed to be our President. Having been a defender for Spurs and |
9,000+
homes on the Green Belt in Welwyn Hatfield
Just think about it - 7
times the size of
This is the
Government’s latest proposal for the East of England - details in the attached
letter.
IT IS VITAL that everyone,
including the 658 who replied to our previous Newsletter, demonstrates their
objections to this latest proposal. This is your last chance to stop it.
Please act now.
What
can you do?
Simply add your name and address to the attached letter,
plus your own comments if you wish, and send it to us by 28 February.
Mail it to us at
·
·
the
Post Office on
We will send
them in bulk to the Government.
Bob Wilson and
Gary Mabbutt presented Welwyn Hatfield Council with the 658 replies to our September
Newsletter supporting the council’s opposition to the extra homes. They were then delivered
Treasury Report affects the Green Belt
Kate Barker’s report on ‘Land use planning’
issued in December 2006 recommended a review of Green Belt boundaries and a ‘more positive approach to applications that
will enhance the quality of Green Belts’.
The report admitted that ‘some individuals and groups will be adversely affected’. The report noted that Green Belts were
originally created to provide open space near towns. However, ‘checking urban sprawl’ became the first objective of Green Belts
in the government’s own planning guidance.
Our successes in
2006
Planning applications - In 2006
there were182 applications in the
parish, compared with 162 in 2005. We
objected to or commented on 28 of them (15%), with 17 refused or withdrawn,
7
approved (one with modification) and 4 still to be decided. As these figures show, we do not oppose or
comment on the vast majority of planning applications.
In 2006 the council
rejected a further application for a ‘country house’ at Friday Grove,
We keep you informed
Read
about what is happening by means of:
-
www.greenbeltsociety.org.uk , our
website which is updated regularly,
-
Chancellor's Community Newsletter, and
-
this
annual Newsletter.
Membership counts
The East of England
Regional Assembly gave our contact details to other organisations as an example
of how our strong membership and our campaign in 2005 produced a huge response
on the draft East of England Plan. Just
one example of how our voice is noticed by authorities.
Annual membership
costs just £1 a head, so why not enrol each member of your family?
An application form
is below. Enrol at our AGM, or mail the form
with a cheque/postal order payable to 'North Mymms District Green Belt Society'
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NORTH MYMMS DISTRICT GREEN BELT SOCIETY
President
– Gary Mabbutt MBE
This
Society will hold its Annual General Meeting on
AGENDA
1. To confirm the Minutes of the Annual
General Meeting held on
2. To deal with matters arising from those
Minutes
3. To receive the Chairman's report
4. The presentation of the Accounts for
the year ended
5. To receive the Membership Secretary's
report
6. Election of Officers and Committee
Members
7. Election of the Honorary Auditor
8. Any other business
Tim Hill will then
give an illustrated talk on the work of the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife
Trust.
Tea, coffee, and
biscuits will be served afterwards.
MEMBERSHIP
APPLICATION & RENEWAL FORM
To
Carol McCarthy, 1 The Firs,
Please
enrol...............member(s) of my family into the North Mymms District Green
Belt Society
to
First name or initials Surname Address
Mr./Mrs/Ms_____________ _________________ ___________________________
CAPITAL LETTERS PLEASE _____________________________
Cheque / P.O enclosed for £ being £.............annual membership (£1
per person)
and / or
£............... voluntary contribution to funds.
Tick here if you
require a membership card, otherwise we will not
issue one, thereby reducing our overheads. The paid cheque acts as your
receipt. If you require a card, we
would appreciate it if you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please
allow 28 days for delivery.
For
office use: CARD ISSUED ( ) Entered in Register ( )
You can copy the
text below onto a sheet of paper, fill it in and return it to us by
To The Government Office – East of
For official use only
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Resp No: |
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Rep No: |
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Date Rec: |
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Date Ack: |
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From (Enter your name and address here)
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE EAST OF
Policy H1
regional housing provision,
Policy LA3
Policy SS7
Green Belt
I/we object to the proposed 10,000 new homes in Welwyn
Hatfield. The figure should revert back
to 5,800 as stated in the original draft East of England Plan (EEP)
The report following the Examination in Public in 2006 gave
no justification for the increase to 10,000.
The Sustainability Appraisal did not properly assess the impact of this
scale of development in Welwyn Hatfield. There is no technical examination to
support the deliverability and impact of the proposals. The increase is
undemocratic due to the lack of examination, public consultation and
scrutiny.
The sudden imposition of housing figures as minimums at this
late stage is outrageous and dictatorial.
Welwyn Hatfield does not have the infrastructure to support
this scale of development, and Government funding is exhibiting signs of great
strain. Roads in the borough are already
heavily congested and trains overcrowded.
The new
Welwyn Hatfield Council states that the original figure of
5,800 homes might be accommodated without a significant incursion into the
Green Belt. However the increase to
10,000 means that the extra 4,200 homes will have to be built on Green Belt
land. The ‘Proposed Changes’ states that
Green Belt boundaries will have to be further rolled back to accommodate
another 5000 homes. This will result in
settlements merging together and a loss of countryside. This extra 9,200 homes,
equivalent to the size of Hatfield, will have a huge environmental impact due
to the loss of trees, fields and countryside which is so essential to us all in
today’s stressful world
The ‘Proposed Changes’ document implies an immediate review
of Green Belt boundaries in Welwyn Hatfield, yet it cannot happen until 2010
when the District Plan is next updated.
The document does not give specific parameters for the timing and scope
of any Green Belt review. It is too
vague, leading to confusion.