The Combe Valley

15 April 2009

Government Office for the North East has informed us that there will be a Public Inquiry into the Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) and Side Road Orders (SROs) issued by East Sussex County Council. This is good news for us as we can challenge the project on the basis of need, urgency, alternatives considered, value for money and environmental impact.

We have been told that the Inquiry has to take place within 22 weeks of the announcement (unless there are pressing reasons why this should not happen) and is likely to be held in July or August. This a little unfortunate for us since many people are likely to have made holiday plans by now and those tied in to school holiday dates will naturally choose those months.

The total number of objections sent in so far is 247. This includes 19 from 'statutory objectors' such as home/landowners. A big thank you to all those who managed to get their objections in.

A date for the Public Inquiry will be announcedd in the next few days and will be advertised on this website.

MIS-REPORTING BY ESCC 'YOUR COUNTY' MAGAZINE

In 'It's Your County' magazine published in March, claims are made by ESCC that support for the BHLR road scheme is 'overwhelming'. However, a close look at the council's own report to its planning committee on December 10th last year is revealing. (See ESCC Planning Committee papers for 10th December)

Here, it is recorded that in their correspondence with the county council, those making representations IN SUPPORT of the scheme made 34 separate points on 260 occasions; those making points while OBJECTING to the scheme made 347 separate points on 20,069 occasions! This makes the claims of East Sussex County Council seem more than just a little wide of the mark!

PUBLISHED LETTERS RE: ASDA and CLIMATE CHANGE

The Alliance had two letters published in the Bexhill and Hastings local press this week. In the Hastings Observer, we welcome the support offered to local shops in Bohemia and Silverhill, St Leonards through opposition to the ASDA superstore proposals expressed by the prospective conservative parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd. We ask her to reconsider her support for the BHLR in the light of it increasing the likelihood of the store opening and threatening the survival of much valued local shops in the area.

In the Bexhill Observer, we challenge the shadow minister for climate change to justify his support for the BHLR in the light of its significant contribution to carbon dioxide emissions. He has just returned from a conference on climate change in Washington. Greg Barker , MP, also is a signatory to the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee report on 'Biodiversity Loss' (the Link Road would add to this loss), and co-author of the Conservative Party Green Paper on 'A Low Carbon Economy'. Oh dear.

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