Come along on Monday evening (7 January) to question Uttlesford on the Conservative new town plan!

5.32.00pm GMT Sun 6th Jan 2008

Map of the Conservatives' planned new town near Elsenham

Uttlesford District Council's South West Panel is meeting tomorrow evening (Monday 7th January) at 7pm at Mountfitchet College, Forest Hall Road, Stansted. The panels were introduced by the Liberal Democrats when they ran the Council in 2006. The meetings start at 7 pm, with half an hour allocated for questions from the public. You can read more at http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/ by clicking on the "area panels" button on the left hand side of the homepage. One of the main items on the agenda is the Conservative plan for a new town between Elsenham and Henham. Ask the Conservative-controlled council why the new town at Elsenham was promoted as a government-sponsored eco-town which is now being disowned by the Conservative environment committee chairman because it has been realised that this would bring 10,000+ extra homes to Uttlesford on top of the 4,200 that the council has told you about.

Ask why the new town was sold with the promise of a new secondary school at Elsenham when this would mean the loss of the secondary school in Stansted.

Ask why the Conservative-controlled Council ran this consultation over the Christmas and New Year period and failed to get its consultation leaflets delivered to many homes because of the deeply predictable Christmas postal overload.

The consultation ends on January 11th. There's still time to have your say: you can e-mail planning@uttlesford.gov.uk or submit your comments online by registering at http://consultation.limehouse.co.uk/index.do?identifier=uttlesford

Don't forget to tell the council by 11 January what you think about their plans to build a new town at Elsenham that will cause gridlock on the roads in Elsenham, Henham, Stansted and Ugley. Ask how Grove Hill, Lower Street, Chapel Hill and Silver Street in Stansted will cope.

Don't forget to tell the council by 11 January what you think about their other option for nearly 500 homes to the north of Stansted that would increase road congestion on the B1383 and open up possibilities for many more homes spreading north towards Ugley.

Say NO to all the current options on offer. Tell Uttlesford to go back to the drawing board and do it properly next time!