We now have an RSS News Feed. If you install the Google Destop (requires Windows Vista/XP/2000 SP3+ or Mac) and a news reader gadget such as OneFeed, you can have the very latest Lewes Matters news in real-time on your desktop!
And the following feed is for the latest forum posts...
Re:Phoenix Action. Free the Market Lane Two - 2006/05/19 00:14Chris, Councilors and MPs have a duty to look after the WHOLE community ie those that want to see jobs, homes, facilities, flood defences and a vibrant economic future for Lewes as well as those who are concered about the change such a scheme will inevitably bring,. Maybe that's why they "sit on the fence" and await the reports and considered opinions of EH, Cabe and the planners.
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
Chris
Re:Phoenix Action. Free the Market Lane Two - 2006/05/19 00:40That doesn't make sense John. One the one hand you're defending them, saying that people like you/us are deliberatley marginalising ourselves, but then saying we can see more clearly than them. There's something wrong in the logic there - surely a system (local government) should WORK, be capable of seeing the full implications etc and if not, we should force them to do so, rather than go off on some tangent of our own and attempt to replace them. Doesn't make sense to me. I think we should put pressure on the council/councillors/MP to fulfill their duties. Has anyone tried that approach yet? (on this particular issue I mean)
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
S.Oliver
Re:Phoenix Action. Free the Market Lane Two - 2006/05/19 04:26Dear Chris
Our Councillors are required by their Code of Conduct to represent their electorate. This creates a complication when sitting on a planning committe as Councillors cannot express a definite view about an application beforehand. This does not mean they cannot express concern, interest, or curiosity about aspects of an application or meet with their electorate to discuss concerns. They do have to be very careful, particularly following a ruling about a decision in Welwyn Garden City whereby Councillors were held liable for a planning debacle. This resulted in a multi-million pound claim that is still being paid for by local residents through Council Tax. However Councillors also have a requirement to be aware of all the facts, and this includes views presented by the electorate that they represent. These can include professional opinion, local knowledge, or a realisation that a planning report is factually inaccurate. Anyone attending a planning meeting will be aware that our Councillors are not engaging in any meaningful debate, and that mistakes are being made.
Our MP is not involved in planning decisions, so I suggest that everyone contacts him as well as their local Councillor so that they are aware of what we all think.
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
Chris
Re:Phoenix Action. Free the Market Lane Two - 2006/05/19 09:59It's still not the point I'm making. I'm talking about the equivalent of what West Dorset District Council say they did i.e. "When the district council learned that the former brewery was up for sale, it produced a development brief to help guide future proposalsfor the site. Local people were consulted about the development brief to ensure that any ideas for the area met local needs and would make a positive and sustainable contribution to the community."
That is, it's not just a question of sitting on a Planning Committtee, rather it's taking the initiative, via Local Plan or whatever, in shaping the future of the area. If that can happen in other parts of the country, I don't see why it can't be made to happen here.
So let me ask you a question "Has either Lewes Matters or Phoenix Action actually requested and/or had a meeting with Lindsay Frost(Director of Planning & Environmental Services) and, if so, what was the result?"
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
marco crivello
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/05/19 12:45Chris, I think many people are frustrated that our councils, both town and district have not been more proactive in this debate.I think however there are key differences between the Dorchester brewery site and what is unfolding here in Lewes.The industrial estate is not for sale and continues to function,though like some self fulfilling prophecy,it has been allowed to slide down hill through uncertainty over it's future.The developer in buying up properies bit by bit, owns a proportion of the site, not the whole site,and it will not be the whole site when an application is made.Judging by a letter we have received from Lindsay Frost, this appears to put technical constraints on what the council can and can't do.
Lindsay Frost says
The existing adopted Lewes District Local Plan (2003) identifies the area as employment land and,under the new development plan legislation enacted in 2004,we can only prepare supplementary planning documents,such as development briefs,to amplify existing planning policy.We cannot prepare supplementary planning guidance to facilitate other forms of development.
My guess is that were the council to draft a development brief in response to this application it would be legally challenged by Angel.But perhaps someone out there knows differently?
People working with Lewes Matters have written to Lindsay Frost,and other planning officers, on a wide range of subjects from housing density through to land contamination, and this correspondence will be made available when an application is submitted.
Regarding councillors,it is also worth stating for the record that before Christmas residents of Waterloo Place and Green Wall contacted councillors O'keeffe, Crocker, and Chartier to discuss this development, fully expecting an application to be made in January. Only Ruth O'keeffe replied.
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
S.Oliver
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/05/19 14:27Dear Marco.
Under the Code of Conduct Councillors are responsible to the electorate. I would suggest writing to Mr Chartier again, and asking him if there is a reason why is unwilling to respond.
| | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.
Dear site visitor at IP address 38.103.63.61. We were forced to make it necessary for you to register and login before making forum postings because of the constant flood of unwanted and often abusive material that was being uploaded by anonymous spammers from all over the world. I'm sure you know the sort of stuff - viagra ads and the like - what a bore! But you can of course read the postings without logging in, and in any case it only takes a couple of minutes to register - you're not losing your privacy, but you're keeping out the spammers. So do please register and continue using the forum - we need your input! Thanks, Lewes Matters Admin.
