President's Page
M.W. Hanson 3 Church Cottages, Church Road, Boreham, Essex CM3 3EG
In the last issue of the Newsletter (no.47) I reported on my analysis of the proposals
contained in the EERA plan for future development in the east of England. As you
probably know by now the responsibility for strategic planning issues has been removed
from county councils and now rests with an unelected government appointed planning
body (EERA). In my opinion the plan is almost laughably unworkable, it is simply not
in any way sustainable and has the potential to do almost indescribable damage to an
already battered and degraded East Anglian landscape. There has now also been a
further serious development. In September 2005 an Examination in Public (EiP) is due
to be held to test the soundness of the draft plan.
This EiP takes the place of the old Public Inquiry, much hated by bureaucrats because of
the time and expense involved in their running. The EiP is to be carried out by an
independent panel appointed by the planning inspectorate (so not very independent then).
What is most disturbing is the fact that there appears to be representation only by invitation
at the EiP and what is even more disturbing is that this is going to be extremely limited.
It appears that the ten strategic authorities (county councils and unitary authorities)
which comprise the East of England are to be given only three seats at the hearing and
the fifty or so local authorities found in the region will be allocated only one seat. The
most baffling of all the iniquities being foisted on the many hundreds of parish councils
is the derisory allocation of one seat amongst them. Surely it should be that each of the
ten strategic authorities should have an equal representation; there is no point even in
thinking about allocating seats to local and parish councils who will not have the necessary
resources or support to make any sort of impact at a public enquiry that ultimately will
affect the future development over several million acres of land in the east of England.
I think it is unfortunate that this Presidents Page is having to deal with the issue of
regional planning and not natural history per se but the consequences of the sheer scale
of the proposed developments will have severe consequences for Essex and it seems to
me that the imposition of any or all of the planned proposals will have far-reaching and
very long-term affects on some aspects of the natural history of the county.
It also seems to me that the so-called EiP is a mere formality, a foregone conclusion
(exactly why is Abberton Reservoir being enlarged to hold 9.5 billion gallons; why has
a Chelmsford cement company just opened plants in Purfleet and Ipswich; why the
sudden need for the A120; why the A12 LOIS study; why the proposed rail so-called
Superlink for west Essex etc., etc.).
I think that Essex is coming up to a major turning point in its structure and identity. The
historic county boundary that the Club has faithfully adhered to over the last century
and a quarter is under threat as never before, if the politicians have their way I suspect
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 48, September 2005 3