Here you can access the websites of other groups, see how they view eco-town proposals in their areas and learn from their experiences.
20 March 2009
Letter from Dr. R K A Feltham, Pennbury
Dear fellow campaigners
Just to inform you of some more political figures that we have encouraged to visit our proposed eco-town location (Pennbury), which is owned by the Co-op and is primarily greenfield with the active Leicester Airport in the middle.
CASCET is a non-political campaign group, and although many of our committee are sitting county and district councillors from either Conservative or LibDem groups, we work to remove any direct links between local party politics and our campaign. Elections are looming in June, so no doubt that will test how well we can weather the heat of local politics !!
Anyway the point of that little preamble was to explain why we have been cajoling and demanding that some senior politicians visit our area to raise the profile of our campaign but also to highlight the importance of this whole eco-town issue. Our local Conservative MPs, Alan Duncan (shadow leader of House of Commons) and Edward Garnier (shadow Prisons Minister), plus the two Labour MPs, Keith Vaz and Sir Peter Soulsby, whose Leicester constituencies adjoin the proposed eco-town, have all opposed the location in public and met with Housing Ministers in London, including Margaret Beckett, to argue against this site being selected. Other MP visitors during the past year have been Julia Goldsworthy (LD shadow CLG secretary), Lembit Opik (LD shadow housing minister, who frequently flies into Leicester Airport regularly to visit his mother), and Grant Shapps (Conservative shadow housing minister). All have done their bit on the local media front and pronounced their strong objections to this location and that they are seriously concerned about the top down Government process for eco-towns. And then there was the Caroline Flint (previous Labour Housing Minister) visit last July! Originally she was unwilling to visit the actual location, but after concerted persuasion and my offer to take her personally, she did take up the offer and then spent a couple of hours with local county, district and parish councillors, before unsuccessfully trying to avoid a vociferous but orchestrated demonstration by 200 CASCET supporters.
Yesterday (Thursday) we had a visit from Dr Vince Cable (LD Treasury spokesman) prior to him appearing on BBC TV Question Time last night. Again he kept to the CASCET briefing and spoke out against the Government's eco-town process and the location specifically with about 50 campaigners. This afternoon (Friday), we have Nick Herbert (Conservative shadow DEFRA secretary, and MP for Arundel and South Downs) visiting, and only a couple of days after his excellent adjournment debate in the House of Commons on the Ford eco-town in his own constituency.
We have not finished yet either, as with European and County Council elections coming closer, there will be opportunities for us to invite other senior politicians to the location. What we really need are some Labour big-hitters, but we may have to be very patient for that I fear.
How are other campaigns doing? Have you used this strategy at all, and if so, who have you managed to invite? It might be useful to compile a list of the political figures who have visited each proposed eco-town location, so we can demonstrate the interest in our campaigns to central Government, and not be branded as just "a vocal and active opposition" but as concerned campaigners keen to involve national politicians at every opportunity to help make our cases.
Regards,
Kevin Feltham (Dr)
Leicestershire County Councillor - Gartree Division
Chairman of CASCET: Campaign Against the Stoughton Co-op Eco Town
Mobile: 07771 967323
Website: www.stopthecoopecotown.org
Email: kfeltham@leics.gov.uk Follow my Twitter: kevin_feltham