Quotes of the week
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"It is only the Army that keeps a lot of our green areas from being built on."
-Ann Budd, Bordon resident
Stop Press
MPs on the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Commitee this week have attacked the Government's eco-towns policy. "The eco-towns policy is clearly in some difficulty. It is bound to be affected adversely by the general slowdown in the housing market. But even so, the diference between the original vision and the proposals that are now emerging is considerable..." they said.
"The town of Whitehill-Bordon is in many ways a typical miliary town with no recognisable town centre..." - Government Sustainability Appraisal written by consultants Scott Wilson.
"...I have regularly passed Whitehill/Bordon while travelling on the A3 or on the Waterloo to Portsmouth train..." - Wayne Hemmingway, former fashion designer and member of the Government's Eco-town panel of experts
"Bordon is 2 miles from the A3 and four miles from the railway line..." -Peter Parkinson, local resident
"I am thrilled that Wayne is on board..." - Will Godfrey, Chief Executive, East Hampshire District Council
"Wayne lives nearby so he knows the town fairly well..." -Cllr Ian Dowdle, portfolio holder, EHDC
"...when he arrives back in Chichester, I wonder what sort of residence this 'famous designer' goes home to?" -Tony Thorn, local resident
"It's a colossal, once in a lifetime opportunity -Ferris Cowper, Leader, EHDC
"We will be looking at the reuse of old railway routes..." -Whitehill-Bordon Opportunity Group
"...it is unlikely that accessing Farnham, Petersfield and Alton by public transport will be an attractive option..." - Government Sustainability Appriaisal
"The Green Town Vision has been given huge public support..." -Will Godfrey
"Our target is a net increase in biodiversity." -Whitehill-Bordon Opportunity Group
"...it is not possible...to conclude that that [an eco-town at] Whitehill-Bordon would not lead to adverse effects upon [protected] European sites..." -Sustainability Appraisal
“Eco-towns are all about spin. They are a gimmick, dressed up in an environmental cloak. With the dangers of climate change high on the agenda, if the word “eco” is put in front of anything, it makes it unassailable – at least that is the theory.” -Peter Luff MP
"...a lot of land which is nice, green, naturally good land, could technically be described as brownfield...we are not restricting ourselves just to the MOD land..." -Wendy Shillam, EHDC eco-town consultant.
"If you want an answer (to a resident's question a at public meeting) you should ask the consultants..." Cllr Ian Dowdle, portfolio holder, EHDC
"If you want the answer (to the same question) you should ask the Council..."
- Kevin Murray - consultant team leader
"It is simple plain unadulterated eco nonsense to take top quality agricultural land out of food production and use it to build an eco town. Only a failed Labour Government could promote such ridiculous schemes." - letter from Bedfordshire resident.
The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted policies of tomorrow. They progress slowly, by due process- through apathy, half truth, erosion, fear and threat. The product of constant pressure from those in control of the process, and helpless retreat by their subject people is to realise one day that the absurdities have become law.
BAAG member