Middle Quinton Eco Town proposals slammed in letter from Cotswold MP to Caroline Flint MP

With the consultation on the 15 short listed eco town locations across the country due to close on Monday 30th June, Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has sent a detailed letter of opposition to the proposed site at Long Marston, also know as Middle Quinton, which borders on the Northern edge of the Cotswold constituency.

The MP yesterday commented "My opposition to this proposal is well known and I have been flooded with letters of opposition from my constituents. I also attended a packed meeting in Mickleton where residents clearly expressed their feelings for this ill thought-out eco town. I do not believe the eco credentials of the town will stand up to scrutiny. In last Thursday's debate Caroline Flint admitted that the housing within the eco town will not have to be of the same high standard required of all other housing by 2016. Furthermore the rural location means that there will be far more people commuting to work by car"

The Conservative Shadow Minister Grant Shapps MP is co-ordinating a day of protests on the 30th June in Westminster which will culminate in the delivery of a petition opposing all the suggested eco towns. Mr Clifton-Brown is looking forward to further adding his voice to the protests.

Letters to the Eco Town Consultation should be sent to:-
Eco-Towns Team,
Housing and Growth Programmes, Communities and Local Government,
2/H9 Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU

With copies to Caroline Flint MP at the Department for Communities and Local Government and to Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP

A copy of the letter sent to Caroline Flint MP is detailed below:- 

Friday 20 June 2008

Caroline Flint MP

Department for Communities and Local Government

Eland House

Bressenden Place
London

SW1E 5DU

 

 

Dear

 

Eco Town at Long Marston (Middle Quinton) 

It was extremely frustrating not to have been called by the Speaker during the debate yesterday regarding eco-towns, or during the adjournment debate called by Anne MacIntosh MP on the 3 June.  I have therefore decided to summarise in this letter what I would have said given the opportunity.

 

As a Chartered Surveyor with some experience in these matters I hope you will take note.  Furthermore, I look forward to meeting with you when you visit the site at Long Marston which adjoins my constituency.  I would be grateful for as much advance warning as possible as to when this will be.

 

During the debate new towns such as Welwyn Garden City were mentioned as an example of successful new towns.  This was achieved through a number of factors.

 

1. They were of sufficient size (appx 20,000 houses) to warrant the building of an entirely new infrastructure.
2. This infrastructure was carefully thought through and provided at the same time as the town was built.
3. They were well designed in terms of housing, amenities and above all green, open spaces.
4. They were located where public transport could cater for sufficient employment opportunities for all the new residents.

 

In contrast the Long Marston site fails all these tests.

 

1. With 6000 houses, it will be nowhere near big enough to provide all the necessary infrastructure e.g. a University or large college for further education, large district hospital, variety of cultural activities.

 

 

 

2. The current infrastructure is appalling.  The nearest road, the B4632, was downgraded some 20 years ago from an ‘A’ road due to the rural location.  The Cotswolds Railway line is 3 miles away.  We are currently having a huge battle with the Rail Regulator to have a section made into dual track, so I fail to see how the resources could be provided for a whole new spur.   Even with 12,000 residents it will only be possible to provide a relatively limited bus service, which will be required for routes on all points of the compass, given the rural nature of the area.
3. You will be aware that I have been pressing you through Written Parliamentary Questions as to when a concept statement and an environmental impact assessment will be made.  With great respect, until we see some real detail of the layout of these towns the consultation is a farce because other than a vague idea, no-one knows what the developers have got in mind.  I must therefore press you again as to when you expect the developers to provide this information.
4. As I stated in a letter to the Secretary of State on the 7 February this year, I cannot think of a more rural location south of
   Birmingham.  There is no chance that a sufficient number of employers will be induced to this settlement given its size.  Secondly, due to the high cost of these houses it is almost inevitable that a high proportion of the population will need to be high earners who will have to commute the 25 miles to Birmingham, or perhaps even further.  Therefore far from being sustainable the proposal will actually increase car usage.

 

I also hope you will take seriously the very sensible comments made by Nick Rainsford MP during the debate.  Whilst new settlements can be successful, they need to be of sufficient size as I have previously mentioned and it takes at least 20 years for proper community cohesion to develop.

 

In contrast urban extension provides a much shorter period for community cohesion to be established as friends and relatives live nearby.  During the 1980s, when a large area of one of the most crime ridden estates in northern Europe, then known as Moss Side, was cleared and redeveloped, at least 30% of the existing residents were encouraged to return and the whole development is a credit to the city.

 

Urban extensions have other major advantages in that they can provide high speed public transport to the adjoining city and it is therefore not necessary for a whole new infrastructure.  Indeed as the infrastructure is based on a large existing population it is likely to be of a higher quality and more varied than could be provided in a smaller eco-town.

 

May I tactfully suggest to you therefore that rather than rushing into 10 eco-towns that may not work, that you pilot 2 or 3 in areas where they are not controversial to discover all the difficulties before rolling out the scheme in greater numbers.

 

I also understand that you are intending for a planning policy statement which is site specific for each eco town.  This is extremely unfair as it gives the local authority no

 

 

 

option but to concede the principle in their area.   In the case of Long Marston,

Stratford and Wychavon District Councils have passed motions against the principle. 

 

In my experience it is very rare to adopt this procedure and I would grateful if you could provide any example of where it has been done previously.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

 

GEOFFREY CLIFTON-BROWN

Cc Grant Shapps MP, Peter Luff MP, John Maples MP

 

Source: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Cotswold)

www.geoffreycliftonbrown.com