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COULD more new towns spring up from Cambridgeshire fields if plans for thousands of extra homes are given the go-ahead? ........ Tesco scrapped its plans for the Hanley Grange eco-town, near Hinxton, following a storm of protest from residents and criticism of the scheme's environmental sustainability. .........
Loathed new towns could resurfaceCambridge Evening News 21 September 2009 COULD more new towns spring up from Cambridgeshire fields if plans for thousands of extra homes are given the go-ahead? That is the question raised by Cambridgeshire County Council in response to new proposals unveiled by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA). Tesco scrapped its plans for the Hanley Grange eco-town, near Hinxton, following a storm of protest from residents and criticism of the scheme's environmental sustainability. And Mereham, a 5,000-home town proposed for land near the A10 at Stretham, was thrown out by a Government planning inspector following a similarly fierce campaign by residents of the Fens. But the sites have remained part of the planning landscape, with both featured on an EERA list set out in November when the assembly asked developers to nominate any sites they would be bringing forward. Now EERA has launched a public consultation on growth plans to 2031 - going beyond current plans, which stretch to 2021. The first of the four EERA options, the closest to current plans, would see a maximum of 3,600 homes built each year until 2031. But two of the options would see 4,560 homes built in the county each year within that timeframe. A 20,000-home new town in Huntingdonshire is specifically mentioned in one of those options, with Alconbury mooted as a possible site. Cllr Roy Pegram, county council cabinet member for growth, infrastructure and strategic planning, said: "The county and district authorities have worked together on long-term issues for the county and we are firmly of the view that Cambridgeshire should take no more than the lowest EERA suggestion of 3,600 homes each year until 2031. "We feel this is the highest level of housing growth that the county can support and is higher than we have experienced in the past. "We certainly do not have the infrastructure to support big new settlements like those proposed for Alconbury, Mereham and Hanley Grange. "I would urge people to complete our consultation questionnaire and help us tell EERA what we want for Cambridgeshire." Cllr Nichola Harrison, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for environment and growth on the county council, said: "I think there is a real cross-party consensus that we've got enough of a job to do at the moment with ambitious growth plans that are somewhat behind schedule. We must be left alone to deliver those." Cllr Harrison said the forthcoming cuts in public spending meant there would be less money available for infrastructure needed for new developments, such as transport. She added: "We really mustn't be pushed by the Government into high targets that are only there in order to try to prove that Gordon Brown is on target for three million homes." Cambridge would also be heavily affected by the higher options in the EERA consultation, Cllr Harrison warned. "The higher options bring increased risk of cramming additional houses into Cambridge," she said. "I don't think it is just unwanted new settlements." Cllr Tariq Sadiq, Labour spokesman for environment and growth on the county council, said: "Hanley Grange was always unsustainable. Even regardless of anything else, the transport provision just wasn't there. If ever that comes back, the same problems will remain. "As we've always pointed out, it is the same issue with things like Cambridge East (a housing development proposed for Marshall Airport). "This whole area can never be sustainable unless there is major investment in transport." On whether EERA will go for the high options, Cllr Sadiq said: "Only if they ignore what people are saying." Residents can examine all four options and tell EERA what they think at www.eera.co.uk . The county council and other local authorities have offered to collect the views of residents and send them to EERA through a user-friendly consultation questionnaire on the county council website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/planning/haveyoursay. Read the article in the Cambridge Evening News here . |
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