charles style
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Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/19 06:06
Dear John Stockdale ,
I have just seen your flyer, which as is the case with all the correspondence I have seen from you, full of distortions and inaccuracies.
As you very well know our development proposal is not full of 8 storey buildings, any high elements are only very minor parts of buildings rather than whole blocks as you are trying to suggest, and anyway, heights have not yet been decided and are being scrutinised by Lewes District Council and English Heritage before becoming part of our final submission for planning.
The proposed density is not as you state: 270 dwellings per hectare, in fact the density has not even been decided yet either, but in any event will be checked by Lewes district Council and will comply with guidelines.
It is also ridiculous to suggest that this development will compromise the new Southdowns National Park, in fact the completion of an excellent new Quarter for the County Town with all the facilities proposed, including an arts centre and 400 metres of river frontage will enhance the town and make it more suitable as the centre of the new park.
Nor will there be the loss of hundreds of jobs, in fact there is a massive gain in jobs in the Phoenix Quarter, and we are being extremely careful to protect the blue collar jobs that are there now by providing new light industrial space in Malling Brooks. The net result is likely to be at least 800 new jobs.
The viability of the proposals and its effect on the economy of the town and the district will be scrutinised by all the interested parties who are very capable of understanding our proposals and making their own enquiries and will report to Lewes District Council, before taking a knee jerk reaction as you have done. These parties include the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, East Sussex County Council, Friends of Lewes, SEEDA, Locate East Sussex and Lewes Town Council.
Further, there is no evidence to show that our development 'kill off the High Street' as you have suggested, again this will be checked and understood by proper scientific methods rather than a guess which is all you are making, or perhaps you have done some proper research which you would care to share with me? In fact the proposals are considered to be likely to increase the trade in the High Street as new parking facilities, new jobs and residents will bring increased trade into the town, and make shopping here more attractive to locals and visitors alike.
We are not providing insufficient car parking. Our car parking standards will be checked and comply with East Sussex County Council Highways Department's standards.
Nor are we proposing to funnel traffic down Lancaster Street or the centre of town, as you would know if you visited our exhibition, the traffic management scheme which will be developed in conjunction with East Sussex County Council is careful to avoid this and will be accompanied by a traffic assessment and traffic model for the whole town.
I will be taking legal advice tomorrow to see whether we can get an injunction stopping your lies and distortions. We will also look into suing you either for damages or defamation, or both.
You may not like our proposals, which are in any event not even finalised yet, but if you think that you can get away with trying to further your own cause, whatever that may be, with this kind of behaviour you are wrong. You may wish to reconsider the course of action you are taking. As I said to you in my last postings on the Lewes Matters website I have no objection to people voicing concerns and criticising my company's plans for Lewes, it is entirely natural to want to question the proposals, and we are happy to amend our proposals if the criticism is valid. Freedom of speech is one thing, deliberate distortion of the facts is another. I just will not put up with the dishonest way you go about propogating your views. Get your facts right before you get involved in your campaign and do not make claims you cannot substantiate. If you make claims you cannot substantiate and the result is that you predudice our proposals, in any way, including delay, we will sue you for any consequential loss.
kind regards
Charles Style
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