Harlow Alliance Party respond to Stort River Crossing decisions
General / Fri 25th Feb 2022 at 05:20am
Stort River crossings, Harlow Alliance Party response
ON Wednesday evening Harlow Councillors were asked to agree a scheme costing tens of millions of pounds, which many residents feel will be wasted. It is ironic that Politicians in this country condemn the actions of other Governments when they take decisions which destroy natural habitats and yet our Councillors were happy to support a scheme which does exactly that.
The river crossings will not add any extra capacity for car use, despite the fact that residents of the 10,000 homes being built to the North of the town are being encouraged to use facilities in Harlow. Instead bus lanes, enhanced paths and a cycle track will be constructed from Harlow Town Railway Station into the new development, and a new single carriageway with a path and cycle track will be built across the Stort Valley from Gilston to Riverway. Congestion on Harlows roads can only get worse as a result of these proposals. Vehicle manufacturers are spending millions of pounds to develop electric and driverless cars, any hope of a shift to public transport (buses) is simply wishful thinking.
The plan to develop land at Gilston is fundamentally flawed. There will not be any roads running to the North from the development, meaning residents and visitors will only be able to enter and exit using roads from the A414. The proposed development is nearly three times the size of Church Langley in terms of the number of homes to be constructed, we are all aware of the traffic congestion which can build up if any sort of road incident occurs on the A414. Without roads leading North, residents wishing to travel northwards will have to use a series of minor roads through nearby settlements such as High Wych and Sawbridgeworth, adding to the gridlock which already occurs on these roads.
Members are elected to represent their constituents. Hundreds of residents objected to these Planning Applications and over 6000 signed a petition against them as well. If Harlow Council had taken a pro-active approach to consult with those of us living in the town, indeed if we had the benefit of Area Neighbourhood Plans, hundreds if not thousands more objections would have been received. A document produced by the developers of Harlow North called Community Engagement dated April 2019 set out details of the huge consultation exercise which was undertaken. Sadly very little consultation was carried out with those most affected, namely those of us who live in Harlow.
Evidence is now available which throws doubt on the Government’s target for the number of new homes required in each Council area, as a result many Councils in the South East are either throwing out or reviewing their Local Development Plan following increased opposition from residents concerned about the loss of Green Belt land. Councils have a duty to review these plans, It is a shame that Councillors at Harlow, East Herts and Epping Forest have until now not done so.
In conclusion, our elected representatives have sold us down the river (excuse the pun), Harlow gets no benefit from the construction of these river crossings, they are only being built to try and mitigate the effects of building 10,000 homes in the middle of a field.
Neil Warner-Baker
2022-02-25 06:34:09
I applaud the efforts of the Harlow Alliance Party who have been campaigning against these unfettered developments for years, They are clearly putting the interests of Harlow people first. We have been let down by our local Conservative party who gleefully claim that this is all the Labour Parties fault, then vote enmass in support of East Herts Conservatives to build a Hertfordshire bypass right through OUR TOWN. I feel sickened by their smugness! At least the veteran Labour cllrs have seen the errors of Hggt plans and have had the humility to defend our environment. THEIR IS NOTHING IN THESE PLANS FOR HARLOW.BUT PAIN. I look forward to the response from the Greens and LibDems who campaigned against this in East Herts!
Alan Salsbury
2022-02-25 07:43:13
I have been a Conservative voter since 1961 but I am dismayed that Harlow council have used their majority to push through this environmentally disastrous plan. Labour proposed it, the Conservatives rubber stamped it. We need a strong independent local party to defend our interests.
Angela Kurton
2022-02-25 08:44:32
First - I confirm that am writing under my true identity. No pseudonyms. No borrowing identities from others. No political affiliations at all. I endorse every word spoken in this article. I have just had my first experience of local politics in action, and now fully understand the plans that have been proposed. They are scandalous and sacrilegious. I echo that there is no benefit for Harlow, and any suggestion that these schemes are specifically designed to discourage car use is ludicrous, and yet the greenwash from the planners just keeps coming. What was perhaps most dismaying for me, was the petty tribalism of the Conservatives in the Harlow Chamber. The Chair openly ridiculing a Labour colleague in front of the large public audience (an abuse of privilege) and Cllr Leppard, like a playground bully, launching an aggressive political point-scoring attack on a different Labour committee member. What I witnessed within the Conservative ranks was a group of adult children posing as community leaders, and unfortunately they had the tremendous lack of wisdom to rubber-stamp this cynical and destructive project. We need to get away from this two-party tribalism if we are ever to have any hope of good decision-making.
James Leppard
2022-02-25 12:16:40
Angela Kurton, I consider your remarks about my acting as a “bully” to be completely unwarranted. I spent many hours reading through the extensive Application information packs and making copious notes. I asked a number of relevant questions. I also visited the sites in question with both officers and other Committee members. It was noticeable that Labour Councillor had not read the papers when he asked how long the construction of the Central Crossing would take. If he had troubles to read the papers he would have learned the answer very early on in the application pack. What was most irksome and in my view wholly unacceptable was his simulated indignation and feigned ignorance of aspects of the project. This is wholly deceitful. He has been not only engaged, but highly supportive of the HGGT project since its inception in 2017. He and his administration voted in favour of it no less than 7 times. If you wish, I can send you all relevant links. He was one of the authors of ensuring it in the Labour Harlow Local Plan adopted in Dec 2020, which, as you should be aware was highlighted at the outset of the meeting to be a ‘material policy’ document. You might recall that I read a relevant clause from his own Plan to which he seemed to be suffering a bout of amnesia. The stance of Cllr Danvers and Clark was one of rank hypocrisy and deceit. If any one was playing party politics to the audience it was them. Planning committee work is different from other committees. It is not political but rather quasi judicial and should not be decided on party lines. Personal opinions must be sacrificed unless they can be supported by material grounds as defined under Planning laws and regulations; not on whim. It is for this reason guidance is provided by planning and legal officers. Committee members are expected to work diligently and objectively and to make their decisions based upon the documents presented to them and avoid any ‘predetermination’. To reject an application without proper material grounds could likely expose the Council to a highly costly legal review and result in the appeal succeeding. To do so would be reckless with taxpayer funds. Cllr Danvers also made wholly unwarranted disparaging comments regarding certain officers. Were he not standing down as a Councillor in May, his actions could have led him to be referred to Standard’s Committee and be sanctioned. Finally, your comments regarding the Chairman of the Committee, Cllr Mike Garnett are insulting. Mike is an experienced councillor and conducted the proceedings with impeccable impartiality and strict adherence to the rules.
Kim Oconnor
2022-02-25 13:12:32
Harlow and Gilston Garden Post says it all, here's there head line. We exspess delight that they won this. I say you express delight in the destruction of our green belt. No matter how you dress this up. Harlow council haven't wanted to speak to us campaigners from the beginning. And as for theses meetings, to have only minutes speak, for such an important thing is awful. The very sad fact is when you have 5 councils they will follow suit. And they all followed suit in thus case. It's a very sad day for so many people. Who only wanted to save this beautiful river for there children and grandchildren, as yasmin said in meetings, there's no dought in my mind, that this river will be destroyed, and you councillors, no matter have you paint this picture, would of done this. Once it's done , it's gone forever. Harlow pride and joy, to many many people, along with over6,000 signatures. It's been my strength this river,through hard times , and for many many people also. Im sorry for canal ability. I'm sorry to the wild life. I'm sorry to the old trees and beautiful lands. WE ALL TRYED SO HARD TO KEEP YOU SAFE. no more words.
Simon
2022-02-25 13:24:21
Tory Council. Money > anything else That's all.....
jarrett
2022-02-25 13:50:10
Kim, That last paragraph was very touching,Thank You.
Norman
2022-02-25 18:34:36
People need to stop being so dramatic. It's happening so move on. 10000 new homes will give people from London a chance to move to more affordable housing within a commutable distance.
james nicholson
2022-02-25 19:33:02
Norman, you seem to be under the impression that affordable housing means it's OK to devastate what can only be described as a stunning slice of English nature. As for all the extra people coming into the area and putting extra strain on an already overstretched council and emergency services, well, London can keep them
Danny
2022-02-25 20:18:37
James Leppard. You and your party colleagues have proved again how you have no interest in Harlow or it'd residents. You had an opportunity on Wednesday night to put an end to this criminal act of environmental vandalism but no. Neither you or your colleagues have the spine to do so. You have let the people of Harlow, who you were elected to represent, down in a massive way. Who is going to pay the cost of bin collections, extra policing, new schools and medical services? Where is the council tax that will be gathered from those that eventually will be living in this new "development" be paid? will it be coming to Harlow? You were quick to comment when someone called you a bully. Will you be equally as quick to answer my questions? If not then you and your colleagues are showing how much of a greed driven, lying, unrepresentative, shysters that you are.
Edward
2022-02-25 20:21:28
East Herts, Harlow Councils voted on party lines as did Stortford on a related issue last night. This is strong evidence of predetermination; I understand this is illegal and indicates that Cllrs were not correctly acting in the quasi judicial manner as is expected in planning matters. The debate and application was about two crossings, the environmental impact and damage, not about housing but about a flawed transport plan imposed by Conservative Essex Council, there's far better less costly and more environmentally friendly options but as a Conservative Cllr explained to us at the Civic Centre on Wednesday if the crossings were not approved then other grants would be lost' this need not have been the case. However the point that resolving the problems such as congestion, pollution and flooding caused by these crossings in the future will cost millions more than the grants seems not to have been understood by Cllrs. Judging by the questions raised by the Cllrs since the meeting it's clear that they all seem to have not done their homework and are belatedly trying catch up.
novoman
2022-02-25 20:23:04
Edward, meanwhile Harlow suffers then?
James Leppard
2022-02-25 21:46:05
Danny , you need to understand, it is not about spine, it is about ‘material grounds’ as based on planning law /regulations. If you have doubts, check my voting record on the Development Management Committee. It is all very easy to play hypocritically to the audience as Cllr Danvers did and then expose the Council to a highly expensive judicial review to no avail. You are wrong: I care passionately about the town and its people.
Nicholas Taylor
2022-02-25 22:53:23
The point I made James is that Councils across the South East of England are either reviewing their Local Plans or in some cases such as Conservative controlled Basildon Council throwing out their Plan (which was a Labour Plan). The opposition to the building on Green belt is growing, just this week similar reports are coming from Basildon and Braintree. Evidence is clearly available which shows for example a huge decrease in the number of new households being created and a slow down in the increase in the UK population. If Councils and Councillors really wanted, they could protect the Green Belt from development, but I am afraid the inducements from Government to build, build build means these plans are all about greed and not need. New homes are are built in such numbers over a period of years so supply never meets demand, so keeping prices and profits as high as possible, that is why there are so many boarded up sites in Harlow awaiting development. At the time of the Local Plan examination in Harlow, there were already plans which put the number of homes to be built in the Plan at some 1600 more than required by Government (14%), it was said this was one of the highest in the Country. Now that figure is more like 3000. The simple fact is, your Party is hell bent on proceeding with creating a city here in Harlow, which only benefits greedy property developers and does not address the real problem of housing need.
Nicholas Taylor
2022-02-26 00:10:08
I meant to say Maldon in the second example in the post above.
Kim Oconnor
2022-02-26 10:06:30
Standing up to something that is very important to a lot of people in Harlow, and up and down this country, that is very serious environmental problem, is about having a spine to do so.. . It takes a lot of hard work and planning. Mr Danvers is a good man, who showed he cared enough to do so, as do many people. If you care and are passionate about your town and environment, so much so that you don't want it destroyed you would stand up to this appalling monstrosity . My father, along with 5 brothers, helped build this town, with green belt in mind. You lot only only see profit and greed.
Neil Warner-Baker
2022-02-26 12:00:03
Dear cllr Leppard, Yourself and all the Conservatives did not have to vote this through in its current form, you could have insisted that the private developers go back to the drawing board and design something that is more sympathic to the rural feel of the Stort Valley. It was a bad day for local democracy. The current design of this flyover in the form of a bridge which is actually a 7 metre high (28ft) ROUNABOUT at the river and HUMPS into Temple fields and Mead Ind Estate 6ft to 12ft is nightmarish. You was warned that H.T.S and the civic Amenity will be severely effected (how much will it cost Harlow Council to relocate these essential services? You should have considered this.. You are the Finance Portfolio holder after all!) What angered me was that you accepted the word of an East Herts Council officer (against mine) and didn't check with Harlow Councils own staff how much Greenbelt land would be lost or check that the River walk was part of the Town park and runs continuously from the zig zag bridge through to old Harlow. It should have been a material consideration that just meters over our border and close to Urban accommodation they are constructing this flyover out of huge pipes, it will become a haven for rough sleepers and antisocial behaviour.. Another strain on Policing and a other cost to the taxpayer... You was WARNED but you did NOT LISTEN...
Jamie Gilbert
2022-02-26 13:17:37
CLLR Leppard, your party did not act professionally, I often watch council meetings and see the conservatives laughing and jeering at the opposition. I really think you should avoid using the words hypocrit and hypocritically so much, to call CLLR Danvers a hypocrite saying its there fault and to then vote in Favour is pretty ironic in my opinion! Not to mention the look of frustration and anger in your face the entire evening, you were so red in the face from the get go. It felt like you came in ready to damage Labour as much as possible. And the let's talk about your colleagues CLLR Swords and CLLR Hardware who laughed at an elderly lady (presumably because she forgot to turn her Mike on and was struggling to hear people telling her too) I'm talking about CLLR Clark. Regardless if Labour put this through in principle they made the decision to do what's right by Harlow. The Eastern crossing is a disgrace of a project! As Neil has said, you could have sent them back to the drawing board! And if you want to discuss the chair running the meeting accordingly. He silenced CLLR Danvers for standing up to your name calling but allowed your name calling. And allowed the Tory councillors to mock Labour from the audience... yet when anyone else in the room jeered from the audience they was told to be quite. It most definetly was not impartial. Yasmin Gregory made a statement about EH and Harlow Council vowing net 0 by 2030 and 2040 and the EH representatives said this was incorrect. It is most definetly not incorrect. This is a project that benefits EH in so many ways and Harlow gets almost nothing from the deal. I hope Harlows voters reflect how they feel about this with their votes in May!
James Leppard
2022-02-26 14:02:39
Jamie Gilbert. Thanks for your comments. I can assure you that I had read all the papers meticulously and had raised a number of questions with officers and legal advisers. I was neither frustrated nor angry. I was astounded by the blatant hypocrisy of Cllr Danvers, who is on the record (I can send you the links) as having voted in support of this 7 times. He interrupted me when I was speaking, which correctly not allowed. I pointed out that I had not interrupted his speech. He and some other Labour Cllrs frequently do this in meetings, which disrespectful and shows a complete lack of decorum. His disparaging comments with regards to officers was a complete breach of convention. He is fortunate not to have been referred to Standard’s Committee. As for your accusation regarding interjections by other councillors, I confess that I was unaware and would not condone the mocking you suggest occurred, but I did not hear or see it from where I was sitting so cannot comment further. Sadly, I think going forward, we might all be more preoccupied about the perilous events in Ukraine, where a democratic nation is fighting a brutal invader.
Nicholas Taylor
2022-02-26 14:25:24
James Leppard, you are still ducking the point that I made about Councils reviewing their Local Development Plans. The case for the HGGT project and thus the river crossings hangs almost entirely on these Plans, East Herts need these homes, but never mind that Harlow and the environment have to take the consequences. Take a look at what is happening across the South East of England, the opposition to Local Development Plans is so great now even MP'S are concerned about loosing their seats. Councillors elsewhere have done a U Turn and although I am of course no fan of Labour, the Labour Councillors have admitted they got it wrong, nothing wrong with that, indeed a lot right about it. Yourharlow had pictures of the sort of vehicles that Labour had in mind, vehicles which might have got more people on them. We (sorry, the residents of Harlow North) will be left with electric buses at best, with no assurance that long term funding will ensure routes are maintained.
James Leppard
2022-02-26 15:47:43
Nicholas Taylor, I understand that the Harlow Local Development Plan may be subject to review, but I cannot say by when. I am to find out and inform you. Remember it was only adopted by the former Administration in December 2020 so it is only 14 months old. We only assumed control in May 2021.
Kim Oconnor
2022-02-26 19:42:11
Harlow council still could of stopped this monstrosity, no matter when you took control, you all could of voted against this. You could of stopped this . No more passing the buck.
Neil
2022-02-26 20:35:25
I hope people are reading what Nicholas is saying
Nicholas Taylor
2022-02-26 21:38:56
Well James, your Party have indicated that a revue will be undertaken at the end of this year, no reason why it cannot be done sooner. Has your Party/the Council had meetings with those at EFDC, their Local Development Plan is still with the Planning Inspector., don't forget that LDV if agreed will see thousands of homes built to the South and West of Harlow, the Green Belt disappear and jobs lost as commercial greenhouses are demolished to make way for homes. The blame for this will be laid at the door of your Party, at Westminster for insisting on such huge housing numbers, at EFDC and HDC. Its all about greed not housing need.
Neil Warner-Baker
2022-02-27 13:04:02
Mr Leppard, I hope that you will take the time to go over the plans for this flyover that the conservatives voted through, you simply can't vote it through and blame it on Labour, because the details were not available.. THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL, and you have let a hell of a lot of detail through without challenge. For example Cyclists and walkers from Eastwick will now need to follow a concrete flyover alongside traffic go round the the elwvated roundabelt, dismount, use pedestrian traffic lights follow that d shaped track then use some kind of underpass to get to the River.. Its madness. Then there is the (Hig) Housing infrastructure Grant, the Carrot that encouraged you all to vote on this prematurely... BEFORE this highway is proven to be needed. I warned you all at the Planning meeting that this flyover will soak up all of that grant and probably much more. The cost of Steel and concrete have skyrocketed since the developers did their Sums. Please be aware that the logic of using that route onto Edinburgh Way was to take advantage of the existing railway bridge opposite the Peugeot garage, Network rail put in an objection, telling you that that bridge would not be strong enough. Now that bridge has to be knocked down and rebuilt ( Chaos for Rail users and Businesses!?) and another unethical burdon on the tax payer. That Hig fund is supposed to cover 'forward funding' of infrastructure for the entire Hggt project, of 25,000 houses and provide the incentive for social housing.. It is now all in doubt.. Please, please take the time to check my observations, you are the finance Portfolio holder after all.. There is so much wrong with what you have put your Name to.. YOU WAS WARNED.. BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN
Nostradamus
2022-03-06 08:42:05
Why did Cllrs not address the thousands of objections raised after all there were apparently less than 10 letters of support lodged in the Planning Portal? The Environment Agency has warned of the serious consequences of building the Eastern Crossing for the River Valley and Harlow yet these have been ignored. If Tory Councillors can't even listen to the concerns of residents, the EA and advice from their own MP then it's clear they aren't fit for office: observing the behaviour of these Cllrs at many meetings indicates they were in the wrong building, wrong show: the pantomime clowns belong in the Playhouse not in office.
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