Farndon Focus

Farndon edition Apr 2012

Development Shock
for Farndon

Click HERE to download / view

Let Hartford Decide

The proposal by developers to increase the size of Hartford by 650 houses (some suggest 1200) thus increasing the size of the village by half has been greeted with dismay, fury or trepidation depending upon your viewpoint.


Residents point to the already congested roads particularly at morning and evening commuting times. To the huge number of students already using the 10 successful schools in the village many already commute into the village increasing its population by half.

There are concerns about the environmental effects on areas such as Marshall’s Arm Nature Reserve, which many residents have worked for years to establish as an amenity.

The limited parking by Chester Road shops is due for a net increase of 6 places to 31. Hardly in line with the proposed increase in residents.

There is no demonstrated demand for an increase on this scale and many argue that brownfield sites should be used before the green fields of The Hollies or Grange Farm. And that the Winnington Village (brownfield) development meets the demand from the area for years to come…

Liberal Democrats are working with residents and the Hartford Joint Acton group – a joint venture of the Parish Council and the Civic Society. A successful campaign to collect signatures expressing concern about the proposed ‘simplification’ of the planning controls, which many fear will result in a planning vacuum which developers can exploit, raised almost 3000 signatures. Our Tory MP Graham Evans expressed sympathy for the concerns of this significant phalanx of his constituents but indicated that he would not vote against the bill.

The controversial outline planning proposals were submitted to CW+C just before Christmas. They did not however slip through unnoticed in the festive season. The two proposals, The Hollies and Grange Farm have each attracted some 600 letters and 700 on-line comments. It is a great credit to the village spirit that so many residents have taken the trouble to write to object.

The above are rounds one and two of the battle. The third round will be the appeal stage when one side or the other is sure to appeal. Liberal democrats hope residents will not lose their resolve and continue to monitor the Let Hartford Decide website as well as Hartford News and other local press.

For more information please visit:

http://www.lethartforddecide.org.uk

Are two Eds better than one?

I’m not sure - but the two Eds said something very interesting over the weekend: apparently they don’t have a ‘Plan B’ for the economy after all.

You’ll have heard Simon Hughes and I over the weekend rightly calling on the two Eds to apologise. We want them to apologise to the British public for deceiving them for 18 months. However, there is one apology we didn’t call for publicly, but which they still should make – that’s an apology to you.

Last May across the country, from Lancaster to Sheffield and Manchester to Newcastle, many of you lost your council seats to undeserving Labour candidates who were fighting their elections on a false platform with dishonest messages. They stood on a platform that the Eds now admit was wrong. Shame on them – but I’m proud of you.

In addition, Nick Clegg deserves an apology. Nick has been berated and abused by the Labour leadership for having the guts to stand up and work as part of the Coalition in the best interest of the country. Now Labour have admitted that their attacks were inaccurate - but there’s no hint of apology. They have gone from being in the wrong place, to all over the place.

That leaves the Liberal Democrats as the only political party with the backbone to tackle the country’s problems, but with the heart to do everything to ensure that fairness, compassion and justice are written through everything we do.

As This article from The Times recognises, the Liberal Democrats are a progressive force in Government. We are the Party delivering tax cuts for working people, we are the party investing in the poorest school pupils, we are the party delivering the largest ever state pension rise and importantly, we are the party prepared to take the tough decisions needed to get this country back on track.

So don’t hold your breath waiting for an apology from Labour – but rest assured you are most definitely owed one!

I have written more about this on Lib Dem Voice, and you can see my full article Here.


Best wishes,



Tim Farron
President of the Liberal Democrats

OUR BELIEFS

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.

Preamble to Liberal Democrat Party Constitution