Tories Voted For Uttlesford's Housing Quota

5.19.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 2nd May 2009

Uttlesford Conservatives' proposed new town in Elsenham and Henham

It is a sign of Uttlesford Conservatives' desperation that they are relying on a change of government to get them out of a situation caused by their own ineptitude. Cllr Rolfe says that "neither Cllr Ketteridge, Barker or any member of the Conservative UDC group has supported 4,200 extra houses" Well memories are short, and Cllr Howard Rolfe was not on the Council at the time, but the Council Minutes of January 2005 clearly state that the vote to accept the housing allocation from the Regional Assembly was unanimous. Councillors Barker and Ketteridge were present and voted. It is not Cllr Peter Wilcock who is being "parsimonious with reality", but Cllr Rolfe.

Anyone who wishes to check for themselves can find the council minutes at:  

http://ggpweb.uttlesford.gov.uk/CMISWebPublic/Binary.ashx?Document=11117

On the same letters page, Jeff Cochran accuses Cllr Wilcock of "banging on" about the eco-town at Elsenham. Well yes, the Liberal Democrats will continue to "bang on" because we believe that a 5,000 Eco town or a 3,000 house settlement, as proposed by the Conservatives at UDC, would not only be disastrous for Elsenham, Henham and surrounding villages, but for the District.

He also says that Cllr Wilcock and I are mischief-making and that we are "having a pop at the people at the sharp end who actually have to make decisions". The decision of where to put 4,200 houses should have been made by cross-party consensus, not by the Administration alone, who did not discuss their preferred option with the other parties. It was left to an officer to communicate it to the other groups half an hour before the committee meeting, even though a new settlement was Uttlesford residents' least popular option.

The Liberal Democrats did not get the Council into this mess, and we have every right to criticise what we believe is a wrong decision. We have been calling for over a year for all-party workshops to re-consider the options for housing, but so far these have not happened.

Councillor Catherine Dean, Uttlesford District Council Member for Elsenham & Henham