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Environment focus group meeting - 2006/01/18 19:31Apologies to all who would like to have attended this meeting but have not been informed in time. It is at 5.30 today at Lorraine Serrechio's house in the Pells area. Attending will be Roger and Susan Murray and Howard Johns of Southern Solar, Lorraine and myself. I'll post minutes tomorrow.
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Dirk Campbell
Re:Environment focus group meeting - 2006/01/21 01:10The meeting was attended by Roger and Susan Murray, Lorraine Serrechia, Howard Johns of Southern Solar and Dirk Campbell (convener).
The main points of the meeting were as follows:
The key lever for ensuring a sustainable development is Government Planning Policy Statement 22 which gives local and district councils power to ensure renewables. There are a number of developments already completed in Britain under this policy statement which use such principles as rainwater harvesting, central biomass converters, solar panels, energy efficient lightbulbs, heat recovery ventilation, highest insulation specifications and the minimization of car use.
Many European countries, especially Germany, install wind turbines and rainwater harvesting systems on new developments.
Urge Norman Baker to pressurise District Councillors to support Government environmental policy.
The Phoenix development should put businesses together with dwellings (live/work) rather than have commuters. Affordable housing is essential to the environmental impact of the development. There should be provision for keeping bicycles and growing food.
A vision statement will be prepared and minutes posted on the Lewes matters website.
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Dirk Campbell
Re: second Ecogroup meeting - 2006/01/26 06:29The second meeting of the Ecogroup was held at Lorraine Serrecchia's house at 5.30 Wednesday 25th January. Key issues discussed:
The Flood Meeting at Lewes Town Hall referred to the Phoenix development. Lindsay Frost of Lewes District Council stated that planning application from Angel Properties is not expected for another two months, and that LDC will almost certainly require a public enquiry from the Secretary of State. (This will probably take two years, according to Gordon Bull.) So the heat is off for the present. But we must not take our eye off the ball.
Try to ensure that Agenda 21 and Government Planning Policy Statement 22 are adopted by LDC before Angel Properties and other development proposals (County Hall, Culverwells land, the bus station, Lewes House, Market Gardens in Malling etc.) are considered. The aim is to influence LDC towards a committed environmental policy.
Woking Borough Council has such a policy. Lewes Matters Ecogroup will arrange a visit to Woking and report to LDC on its application to new developments in Lewes.
Investigate previous Angel Properties developments e.g. in Southwark and find out whether they got approval of submitted plans and then built something different.
Next meeting of the Ecogroup will be decided after the Woking visit, TBA.
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Dirk Campbell
Third Ecogroup meeting - 2006/02/19 03:20The third meeting of the sustainability focus group was held at Lorraine Serrechia's house on February 8th.
Amazing fact no 3: Refrigerators account for about 20% of household electricity use.
The meeting covered the following main subjects:
1. Find out what the LibDems official policy on sustainable development is and hold them to it! (Most of the LDC are LibDems.)
2. When Angel Properties puts on its exhibition at Market Lane Garage again we must maintain a presence there, with a) a placard asking the question 'What do you want this development to be?' and b) a questionnaire giving the available options in simple tick-box form.
3. All agreed that Howard's vision statement provides a sound basis for the document to be submitted to LDC Head of Housing/Head of Planning/Head of Environment during the public consultation period following Style's outline planning application. All to add any alterations/additions and circulate among ourselves before consolidating the result and circulating to Marco and Lewes Matters.
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Dirk Campbell
Third Ecogroup meeting - 2006/02/19 03:21The third meeting of the sustainability focus group was held at Lorraine Serrechia's house on February 8th.
The meeting covered the following main subjects:
1. Find out what the LibDems official policy on sustainable development is and hold them to it! (Most of the LDC are LibDems.)
2. When Angel Properties puts on its exhibition at Market Lane Garage again we must maintain a presence there, with a) a placard asking the question 'What do you want this development to be?' and b) a questionnaire giving the available options in simple tick-box form.
3. All agreed that Howard's vision statement provides a sound basis for the document to be submitted to LDC Head of Housing/Head of Planning/Head of Environment during the public consultation period following Style's outline planning application. All to add any alterations/additions and circulate among ourselves before consolidating the result and circulating to Marco and Lewes Matters.
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