DECENT DELAY OR DITHERING? IS THERE A BETTER WAY THAN AN AVALANCHE OF ECO-TOWNS?

Written by Alan Dean on Fri 21st Mar 2008

Uttlesford council and district now faces a challenge to equal a second airport runway. Four developers have applied to the Government to build eco-towns; three in the Dunmow/A120 area and, of course, at 'Elshenham'. What was described as a brilliant idea in September last year is rapidly becoming a nightmare for the council, the district and its residents.

At the most recent meeting of the council's environment committee on March 11th the timetable was put back for a final decision from next month to some time early next year. What was said last autumn to be a decision that had to be made by April in line with a Government-imposed timetable has now slipped so far into the distance that developers are circling all around the area. At least one of what are now four eco-town proponents is preparing a planning application for submission before Uttlesford has decided on a credible development framework for future decades. Without a planning framework there is a risk that the Government will make decisions over local heads, even if Uttlesford rejects the applications as 'premature'. Anarchy could be just over the horizon unless the council gets a grip on the situation.

At last week's meeting it was finally admitted that the rush at the end of 2007 to meet a 'fixed, Government timetable', which led to the unsatisfactory consultation over Christmas, was unnecessary. The timetable was set in the first place by Uttlesford, could have been adjusted by Uttlesford and indeed has now been extended by many months by Uttlesford. Officers and leading councillors misled many other councillors and the public. There has been no apology.

An attempt was made at last week's meeting to put the past mistakes behind the council and at least to ensure that the remaining stages of the local development framework (LDF) work are conducted with far greater transparency and professionalism. The Lib Dem chair of the council's scrutiny committee suggested a review of the scheme of public involvement that has been used to date. He suggested involving the public in the improvement review itself in an attempt to regain public trust and confidence. This offer of help was dismissed without discussion by the Conservative environment committee chair.

The environment committee chairman said that future decisions will only be made on planning officer advice. The problem seems to be that the Conservatives are now so afraid of their own ideas that they no longer appear willing to talk to anybody about the future. It would be a tragedy for the district if political paralysis has indeed set in, as this will play into the hands of the avalanche of eco-town proponents and other smaller developers, who will naturally move in to fill the policy vacuum.

But all is not lost. The Conservative Member of Parliament is trying hard to broker a solution with parish councils. Other ways may still be found to wake up Uttlesford's Conservative councillors from their state of denial and bewilderment so they start to address the chaos that has grown out of their private initiative in September for a new settlement or so-called eco-town at the end of narrow, windy lanes between Elsenham and Henham.

Responsibility also rests with the Independent and Liberal Democrat opposition groups to try yet again to help the Conservative administration group plan now for the future. Councillors have to find a better way and not simply wait for months for hard pressed, over-worked officers, some doing two or three jobs, to shoulder all the burden of working it out. The public also has a role in keeping up the pressure. It would be a major mistake for anyone to think that months of delay is a good thing; putting off the evil day. That may just mean the evil day is doubly or triply evil.