In a jointly signed letter dated 24 March 2018, the Parish Council and Community Association have put forward a strong case for the Green Belt land between Burtons Lane and Lodge Lane to be excluded from the draft Local Plan.
The letter, addressed to all members of the cabinets of both councils, sets out the serious weaknesses in the evidence they have so far presented to justify building on the site. Those weaknesses show that the land should never have been brought forward as a preferred option, and that to pursue the option could put the whole emerging local plan at risk of being found unsound. A local plan must be found sound by a Planning Inspector, if the government is to approve its adoption.
The reasons and arguments put forward are necessarily detailed and sometimes technical, but the first page sets out why the letter has been submitted and this is followed by a short summary of our arguments. You are encouraged to read at least the first two pages of the letter. The detailed arguments are available for those who wish to have a deeper understanding.
The letter is not a response to a formal consultation; the next such consultation will take place only after publication of the draft plan this autumn. Supporting letters from the community are not recommended at this stage, but if you wish to send feedback to the Coordination Group, please use savelittlechalfont@gmail.com as the email address.
Update – Response received to Letter
An acknowledgement has been received to the 24 March letter referred to above and a copy can be read and/or downloaded from the link below.
In the acknowledgement, the Councils have given no indication that they will accede to the request for the Option 6 land to be excluded from the forthcoming draft Local Plan and that they will await all the evidence documents before making a decision. They have also made it clear that they will be following the advice of their Planning Policy Team.
The letter included an invitation for the cabinet members to visit Lodge Lane. This was to see for themselves why Lodge Lane is not a suitable pedestrian access to the nearest bus stop, as has been claimed in the interim proposals for the development of Option 6, but there is no comment about this in the response. The community needs to be satisfied that the cabinet members, as a key part of the decision-making process, have personally walked Lodge Lane to fully understand why any use as a pedestrian route to the nearest bus stop is completely unsuitable.
This invitation is being followed up.
Download response here