My Shotley - news

Statement at the Public meeting re The Ganges proposals, held at Holbrook High School 19 Oct 2004

On behalf of Shotley Parish Council

"Thank you for letting Shotley Parish Council make a brief statement.
Which we wished to do principally to counter some recent statements that Shotley supports the current planning application.

Shotley Parish Council recognises that the site cannot be left as it is
and that some development is both inevitable and to a certain extent
desirable.

We would like to see a development that respects the history and
environmental sensitivity of the site, meets the unmet needs of the
existing community and is proportionate to the existing infrastructure
or compensates in full for the additional burdens it may create. The
current proposal fails on all of these criteria. We have made
representations in detail on these matters to the District and County
Councils.

We recognise the part the Alliance has to play in protecting the
interests of those affected by any development in the wider area and
indeed we support the great majority of those concerns. However as the community most affected, as we have been in discussion with the council and developers for some time and as volunteers with few resources, we must remain focussed on the primary aim of securing a development that can meet our aspirations.

We also recognise that our community has suffered from under investment from many of the statutory services for a significant period of time. As well as commitments from any developers we are seeking a commitment from District, County and others that they will also be investing in the community commensurate with its size, relative isolation and indeed other similar areas. It is not satisfactory for the County for example to be piggy backing this development to pay for minor improvements to the B1456 that in reality should have been installed aeons ago. For our part we are prepared to be full partners in any measures that can benefit our community, we have commenced the preparation of a Parish Plan, we have invested in play equipment and a new pre school and we have earmarked funds for the development of facilities for young people.

Please rest assured that Shotley Parish Council will play a full part
in securing a sustainable development for our communities."

Back to News

HMS Ganges page