EAST OF ENGLAND PLAN "CONSULTATION" ENDS WITH WHIMPER

12.00.00am GMT Mon 17th Dec 2007

"How many people knew that there was an extended consultation on the East of England Plan - and that it closes tomorrow (Tuesday 18th December)?", ask Sandy Walkington and Nigel Quinton, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates for St Albans and Hitchin & Harpenden.

"The previous Secretary of State Ruth Kelly announced proposals to dump 100,000 housing units onto Hertfordshire at the end of 2006. This was nearly double the amount which Hertfordshire's own local planners agreed was necessary. St Albans was to become part of something called London Arc West, with large chunks of its Green Belt being removed.

"Thousands of local people submitted objections and signed up to the Hands Off Herts petitions on paper and on the Downing Street website. But after the initial consultation closed in March of this year, it was then re-opened on some very specific issues of wildlife and conservation - but making it clear that any resultant changes to the plan would be very slight and the original proposals were likely to stand," says Sandy, who was the instigator of the Hands Off Herts campaign.

"The upshot is that the woman in Whitehall is going to announce her decision in 2008 on work that was done in 2006 and before. Much has happened in the interim - including harder and clearer evidence that climate change is the biggest threat facing all of us. During the year we also learned that St Albans is already one of the least green towns in the UK because of the amount of driving done by local residents,"

"In these circumstances building on Hertfordshire Green Belt land which could be used to grow food is foolish. But to then plan new suburban sprawls on the east side of Hemel furthest away from its town centre and railway, and on the west side of Hatfield (again furthest away from its town centre and railway) is little short of madness - car use will be unavoidable.

"Hertfordshire infrastructure is already crumbling under development pressure. Nothing that has happened in the interim makes it any more sensible to proceed with these plans.

"The Secretary of State making the decision may have changed - from Ruth Kelly, MP for Bolton, to Hazel Blears, MP for Salford. But it is of little comfort to local residents that the only connection these Lancashire MPs have with Hertfordshire is to whizz through it between their constituencies and Whitehall", Nigel concluded.

ENDS

For more information please call Sandy Walkington on 07802 177317 or Nigel Quinton on 07971 860415