13 November 2009
North Harlow Community forums - non participation

15 October 2009
Please respond to Stop Harlow North

1st September 2010
East Herts Council's Issues and Options Consultation for the Local Development Framework has started

Harlow north is not yet dead and the developers are continuing with their plans to concrete over the Green Belt in East Herts.

We need to give East Herts Council clear evidence that residents do not want major building on the green fields north of Harlow

What do I need to do?
You need to respond to Q43 in the consultation, saying you:

• object to building thousands of houses in the countryside north of Harlow and the planned loss of Green Belt
• support your local parish councils' view that the land should remain actively used countryside, with access for all, as described in our Gilston Great Park proposals

(There are many more questions in the Issues and Options Consultation relating to development across the whole district. If you want to make a fuller response, please go to the Council's website to view the full consultation)

How can I respond?

1. Complete the form on our website www.stopharlownorth.com , or
2. Simply fill in your name and address on the preprinted postcards we will be distributing locally in the next few weeks and post it back to East Herts Council (FREEPOST). No stamp required!, or
3. Write directly to: East Herts Council, Issues and Options Consultation, Planning Policy Team, FREEPOST ANG6624, Pegs Lane, Hertford, Herts SG13 8YS or log on to http://www.eastherts.gov.uk and respond in detail on line to all 43 questions, or
4. Complete the shortened questionnaire that will be circulated by East Herts Council in the Link magazine in September. There are only 4 questions.

We would prefer our supporters to use option 1 or 2 above. Option 4 is our least preferred option - see below

Responses must be received no later than 5pm on 25th Nov 2010

Will it make a difference?
Over the many years of the campaign public support has been instrumental in achieving our goals. The number of individual responses the Council receives will make a significant impact.

Everyone in your household should respond separately, including children as these plans will impact their future

Make sure your voice is heard

Please forward this e-mail to friends and family and urge them to respond. You do not necessarily need to live in East Herts. All those interested in the future of East Herts should respond.

You can follow the campaign on Facebook at STOP Harlow north

Regards
Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

Please find below suggested responses:

STOP Harlow North's summary response to Question 43 East Herts Local Development Framework Issues and Option Consultation is:

Question 43:
Do you agree with the consultants' Suggested Approach in respect of growth to the north of Harlow?
No. I disagree with the consultants' suggested approach in respect of growth north of Harlow.

If not, how would you distribute development in accordance with Policy HA1 of the East of England Plan and why?
There is no longer any need to distribute development in accordance with policy HA1 of the East of England Plan as the Plan has been revoked by the new Government.
I support a better not a bigger Harlow.
The area north of Harlow should remain an essential part of the (extended) Green Belt

If development to the north of Harlow is no longer required by the East of England Plan, should we consider north of Harlow as a broad location to meet some of the East Herts district wide housing requirement?
No. The green fields north of Harlow are not suitable as a broad location to meet district wide housing requirements.
The towns and villages north of Harlow should be treated in the Local Development Framework no differently from other towns and villages of similar size and character in the district.
I support limited housing to meet local needs in accordance with locally developed parish and town plans
I strongly object to major development north of Harlow
I support the local community's plans for Gilston Great Park north of Harlow

If you choose to use the Link magazine response form, although this is our least preferred option, we ask you to respond to Question 4 as follows:

Do you agree with the consultants' Suggested Approach in respect of growth to the north of Harlow?
Disagree

If not, how would you distribute development in accordance with Policy HA1 of the East of England Plan and why?
There is no longer any need to distribute development in accordance with policy HA1 of the East of England Plan as the Plan has been revoked by the new government. The area north of Harlow in East Herts should remain an essential part of the (extended) green belt

If development to the north of Harlow is no longer required by the East of England Plan, should we consider north of Harlow as a broad location to meet some of the East Herts district wide housing requirement?
No

There is no space for free text on last sub question and only limited space in the free text box on the second sub question in the questionnaire. This makes this method of response less than ideal

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15 August 2010
STOP Harlow north newsletter August 2010

Dear All,

We hope you are having a relaxing summer. The Stop Harlow North campaign is busily working away preparing for the East Herts Council Local Development Framework Issues and Options Consultation (what a mouthful!). This next consultation will run from 2nd September to 25th Nov. This is only a few weeks away.

The good news is that the East of England Plan has been revoked but the bad news is that developers, particularly NHJV, are still suggesting that the green fields north of Harlow are a suitable place to build thousands of homes.

East Herts Council must prepare a Local Development Framework (Local Plan) to guide development for the district. The Council wants to hear residents' views before coming up with the preferred options for housing in the district.  We will need to give East Herts Council clear evidence that residents do not want major building on the green fields north of Harlow
Our campaign will set up a response form on our website and we will be distributing preprinted postcards as well. You will be able to write directly to the Council or respond via their IT system.

Of course the campaign always needs donations to pay for printing and advertising and just to keep the website going. If you can make a small contribution it will be gratefully received. Cheques should be made payable to 'STOP Harlow North' and sent to Treasurer, C/O Yewtree House, High Street Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT

We also need volunteers to help distribute leaflets in the villages and towns in late September / October. Please get in contact if you can help. Many hands make light work.

Please send this newsletter on to all you friends and family and ask them to sign up to the campaign via the Join Us page on the website (www.stopharlownorth.com). You can also follow us on Facebook at 'STOP Harlow north'. This next consultation is vital to killing the idea of Harlow North for good. Please spread the word.

We will be back in touch in early September with details on how to respond

Regards
STOP Harlow North team

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31 May 2010
SHN welcomes new Government's commitment to abolish Regional Plan

Dear All

Our campaign was heartened by the news last week that the new Government intends to abolish the regional spatial strategy- the East of England Plan. It is this Plan that seeks to impose Harlow North on our community.

Despite this good news we must remain vigilant as the legislation has not yet been passed and may not be for a year or more.

In the meantime East Herts Council has to continue developing its Local Development Framework (LDF) in compliance with the published Plan. The Issues and Options consultation will be taking place during August, September and part of October. We will keep you informed on how to respond when the time comes. Your responses will be vital evidence for East Herts to show the strength of opposition to the proposals. It is imperative that you do respond despite the promise that the Plan will be abolished.

However once again we would urge you not to respond to any marketing material from North Harlow Joint Venture (NHJV). NHJV have recently published the feedback from last winter's local consultations and it is clear that they intend to use any engagement to bolster their business case for their submission into the LDF process. The feedback is on their website under 'publications'

East Herts Council has recently affirmed its 'total opposition' to development north of Harlow. Coupled with the proposed changes to the planning system by the new Government, we are now optimistic that we will see the developers off once and for all.

We remain proactive in determining the future for our community so we are now ramping up our efforts to implement the community's plan for Gilston Great Park- actively managed countryside, north of Harlow first published in October 2006. The proposals are on our website.

We will have additional expenses during the public consultation this summer for leaflets, posters etc so we would be grateful for any contributions. Please send cheques made payable to 'STOP Harlow North' to SHN treasurer c/o Yewtree House, High Street Hunsdon, Herts SG12 8NT.

Regards

Nigel Clark Secretary
STOP Harlow North

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22 April 2010
Urgent Update from STOP Harlow North

Dear All,

This is the first STOP Harlow North campaign newsletter of 2010. We have a few updates to bring to you. If you are a member of our Facebook group (STOP Harlow North) you may have seen some of the news already and we would like more people to join the group.

Firstly, visit our website to find out the views of local prospective MPs on development north of Harlow.

We have asked each of the Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) in the Hertford & Stortford and Harlow constituencies to provide a statement on the proposed Harlow North / North Harlow development, and on how the planning process would change under that party in government.

STOP Harlow North is a non-political lobby group and makes no recommendation to its supporters, but urges you to read these statements and to bear them in mind when deciding how to vote in the 2010 General Election.

Go to the Homepage on our website and click on any candidate's name which is underlined to read their statement

We have taken steps to contact each of the PPCs but have not been wholly successful. If any of the candidates would still like to make a statement, or if our list of PPCs is incomplete, then we would be pleased to include further statements.

Secondly, the North Harlow joint venture (NHJV) has just sent out their second newsletter.

There appears to be no substance and no new information. We would urge you not to respond directly to them. NHJV may use your interaction to demonstrate community engagement to further their development in the planning process. UD+M are ticking boxes and documenting their process. There are no answers and no weighting attached to the issues identified by UD+M.

The local development planning process still has to run it course and NHJV's land has not been allocated for development. Consulting on the design of Harlow North/ North Harlow now would be premature. Please feel free to send us your comments or questions if you are concerned.

All the parish councils have reaffirmed that SHN will represent them on Harlow North matters via their mandated reps and, contrary to their claims, SHN has been trying for some time to set up a meeting with NHJV to discuss their consultation process and next steps (but not design issues). This is scheduled for late May and we will provide you with feedback. We hope NHJV will provide the independent report on their consultation process by UD+M at this meeting.

Thirdly, a couple of technical reports have recently been published which support our case

The Harlow Options Appraisal and the Harlow Infrastructure report have both been published and can be viewed on the East Herts Council website in the Local Development Framework section

The Harlow Options Appraisal is the view of Scott Wilson consultants and does not constitute the policy of East Herts Council. Emerging policy will be set out in the Core Strategy Preferred Options document, scheduled for consultation in 2011. The consultants recommended approach in this report indicates there should be no building north of Harlow before 2014 and even after this date this is only deemed 'reasonable' because central Government policy says so!

The Harlow Infrastructure report indicated that growth to 2031 will require more than £750 million of which the developers would be required to pay over £600 million. Consultants state that rate of planned growth is not realistic. The study also 'suggests that since Thames Water is constructing a new sewer to serve growth to the east of Harlow, a focus on growth in this direction, within the limits of interim transport solutions, appears a logical approach ... '

Both reports form part of the Local Development Framework Evidence Base, and will be taken into account in preparing the East Herts Local Development Framework. However, please note that the East Herts Executive (Panel) recently passed the following recommendation: 'East Herts Council maintains its total opposition to any development north of Harlow, in East Hertfordshire District, as contained in the 2008 approved East of England Plan, and Harlow's implied continual growth into East Hertfordshire, as set out in the September 2009 Regional Plan Review Consultation document'

Please keep in touch and join our Facebook group to get more frequent updates

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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13 November 2009
North Harlow Community forums - non participation

STOP Harlow North committee met earlier this week with representatives of Places for People / Land Securities Ltd (the North Harlow Joint Venture, NHJV). There was no common ground. We made clear our intent to oppose them from every angle that we can - economically, environmentally, and politically.

After considerable reflection the Committee has now decided not to actively engage in the planned Community Forums this Saturday and Monday.

We believe the agenda of the Community forums fails to adequately address a number of fundamental issues (e.g. Jobs, the purpose of the green belt, water and sewage etc) and at this late stage do not feel confident that NHJV can adapt the process to mitigate our concerns.

We also view the forums as a mechanism aimed at drawing people into accepting the principle of development as part of a wider 'change management' process. The whole presumption of these events is that there will be building north of Harlow because the East of England Plan says so. We fundamentally disagree with any large scale building north of Harlow and will continue to promote the concept of Gilston Great Park. We do not believe development north of Harlow is inevitable.

There is a democratic Local Development Framework process run by the district Councils through which the community can voice its concerns and we cannot support NHJV's attempt to set up what appears to be an alternative process.

NHJV's reluctance to provide guarantees on the timing of a planning application only reinforces our concerns.

We will observe the events.

We would ask our supporters to reflect on their own participation. If you still wish to attend, we ask you to make the organisers aware of your principled opposition to this development at every opportunity.

We need to be resolute; despite what it says in the East of England Plan these plans are still unnecessary, unsustainable and undemocratic, and there is no money for the essential infrastructure. They are not inevitable.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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15 October 2009
Please respond to Stop Harlow North

We have two requests that we hope you can help us with which should only take a few minutes of your time.

Firstly please respond to the public consultation on the East of England plan

EERA has been instructed to revise the current East of England Plan to extend its scope from 2021 to 2031. EERA's first draft of the revision puts forward four 'scenarios for growth', which are described on the EERA website (http://www.eera.gov.uk and follow the East of England Plan > 2031 link) and are currently being presented at a number of public events. We need you to respond to the invitation to submit comments. You can do so in one of three ways:

a) Complete the simple, online tick-box form on our website www.stopharlownorth.com , which you can link to from the Homepage. Based on your response STOP Harlow North will generate a standard letter which will be sent to EERA

b) Complete the online response form on the EERA website

c) Write your own letter or email to EERA (they have confirmed that any medium of communication is acceptable)

We would prefer you to use option a). If you could respond during October that would be great, although the final deadline is Nov 24th

Secondly please respond to the prospective1 new owners of the land north of Harlow

Land Securities Ltd / Places for People (the North Harlow Joint Venture - NHJV) have started a new website (www.northharlow.com) and are holding a number of public events in Harlow and East Herts. They have sent a small brochure to 'over 14,000 households and targeted stakeholders' and have invited your comments on the proposal2.

As a team we considered hard whether to engage with NHJV or ignore them. We decided that they needed to know the strength of local feeling against built development on the green fields north of Harlow. They may have taken silence as apathy.

So we need you to let NHJV know your views.

Please speak up now:

a) Write to the NHJV to express your opposition, using the FREEPOST facility they have generously given.

STOP Harlow North has generated a standard letter which you might like to use. This is available in two forms; as an Adobe pdf or in MS Word; the Word version can be amended if you would like to change anything. Both can be found via the Homepage of http://www.stopharlownorth.com Please download and print the letter, adding your address, name, signature and the date. Send to Freepost, TN2451, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2BR.

It would be helpful if you sent us an e-mail to let us know you have responded.

b) Go along to one of the public events and express your opposition. Most local people should be receiving letters with dates and times for your nearest event - see below.3 STOP Harlow North will be present wherever possible and it would be great to have your support.

Thanks and best regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

1. We have not been able to establish whether the sale of the Gilston estate by Ropemakers Properties Ltd to the North Harlow Joint Venture has been concluded or not, despite many requests to establish who we should be dealing with. Like so much else about the proposition, the matter of ownership is shrouded from public scrutiny.

2. The North Harlow website incorporates a questionnaire for you to complete and is also included in the small brochure. In our view the questions posed are irrelevant to the arguments over Harlow North, and do not allow for our reasoned opposition to the proposals to be presented. The questionnaire also asks if people access services in Hereford(!) and ignore Ware completely.

If you do want to complete the questionnaire please ensure you mention your support for our proposals for Gilston Great Park and how much you enjoy the easy access to the countryside- something that would be lost if they build on it!

3. The public drop in events are:

Friday 16th October from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm opposite H Samuels, The Harvey Centre, Harlow Saturday 17th October from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm High Wych Memorial Hall Friday 23rd October from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm and 7pm -10pm Widford Village Hall Saturday 24th October from 10 - 1pm and 2pm-5pm opposite H Samuels, The Harvey Centre, Harlow

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17 September 2009
Stop Harlow north update Sept 09

Dear All,

Firstly I hope you had a great summer.

The judicial review of the East of England plan has run it course and, although ultimately unsuccessful, gained us a whole year.

As autumn approaches and the political season restarts the STOP Harlow north campaign needs your help again. This newsletter lays out the next few months of activity.

The East of England Plan published in May 2008 contained a policy that requires the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) to conduct an early review to extend the Plan to 2031. For the review, EERA is testing a range of scenarios for the scale and distribution of growth housing growth up to 2031.

The public consultation runs from 2 September 2009 to 5.00 p.m. 24 November 2009.

SHN will be developing an in depth response to this consultation and in due course we will make an automated form available on our website for you to use.

We will send you an update when this is ready.

East Herts Council is also developing its Local Development Framework. This is will guide all development in East Herts from the smallest planning application to large strategic developments. It is critical that you all respond to these more local consultations as well.

The first relevant consultation, the Issues and Options consultation, will take place in spring 2010. (This had originally been planned for this September - hence this newsletter).

It will only be at the Preferred Options stage, currently anticipated for spring 2011, that the East Herts Council will set out its draft strategy, policies and proposals, having taken into account responses to the Issues and Options consultation.

SHN intends to ensure there is a massive grass roots response to both these consultations. We will let you know when and how to respond.

However we must remain vigilant as we have learnt from our network of supporters that Land Securities and Places for People (who are buying Ropemakers' land holdings north of Harlow) will be conducting local stakeholder meetings probably in mid to late October. We always welcome local intelligence our supporters might have. Please e-mail mailto:secretary@stopharlownorth.com . We are seeking more details from Land Securities on what they plan but they currently appear reluctant to engage openly with our campaign. This does not bode well for them; Ropemakers suffered from their reticence to address the issues of the local community. When we know details of the meetings we will let you know.

Of course some time in the future the bottom up grass roots responses to all these consultations will have to be reconciled with the East of England Plan. Or will they?

Caroline Spelman, Conservative Shadow Communities Secretary, has confirmed that should the Conservatives form the next Government they will abolish the Regional Spatial Strategies (Regional Plans) and allow local councils to undo unwanted planning policies which these Plans had imposed upon them. East Herts would be able change elements of any local plan which are particularly unpopular or undesirable.

We must make it clear to the Council and Land Securities that plans for Harlow North are unpopular and undesirable

We always need volunteers to help with leaflet delivery so please get in touch by return e-mail or contact your town / parish council if you want to assist in any way. If you cannot help in person or simply want to make a donation to the campaign please make cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North' c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT. We will have some large expenses to cover for leafleting during the public consultations.

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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22 May 2009
Outcome of judicial review on Harlow North - the fight goes on

The Government suffered a legal blow last week over its controversial plans for building thousands of new homes in the East of England.

A High Court judge ruled that the Government's policy strategy relating to proposed development at Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield was flawed and must be quashed and reconsidered. Mr Justice Mitting, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled that alternatives to housing that will impact on green field sites and the Green Belt had not been properly considered before the policy strategy was adopted. The judge ruled the Government had failed to comply with an EU directive and environmental assessment regulations that required reasonable alternatives to be evaluated.

Disappointingly the judge rejected a similar legal challenge to proposals for major greenfield housing growth at Harlow North, saying in that case there had been adequate assessment. We would dispute that finding. STOP Harlow North still believes there is a strong case against Harlow North. We hope Hertfordshire County Council will appeal the ruling

We also believe the Secretary of State behaved irrationally when she rejected the independent planning inspector's report. However, legally, this is difficult to demonstrate as you have to prove no other reasonable person would have made the same decision.

As campaigners we are fighting a long war of attrition. We have good days, such as when we won the argument at the Examination in Public in front of the independent planning inspectors, and some days we have setbacks such as this. We continue to move forward with the campaign and there is much to do.

The government still has to address the significant infrastructure deficit around Harlow, estimated to £1billion. Traffic congestion, water supply and sewage treatment still have no funded solutions. We will continue to highlight these flaws and the unsustainable nature of Harlow north at every opportunity and will need your help in further public consultations later this year.

As the economy falters, the jobs supposedly associated with the regional plan have evaporated and with them the need for the excessive housing growth on green field sites. The finance for house buying has dried up. Most telling the deal for Land Securities to purchase the land north of Harlow from Ropemaker still has not been finalised more than a year after its announcement. The scheme is a financial white elephant.

The judicial review hinged on a fine legal point: whether the Secretary of State has the power to publish the plan without having properly considered the alternatives in a strategic environmental assessment. SHN published its alternative - Gilston Great Park - in 2006. Despite widespread local support for these ideas, the Government completely ignored this alternative land use proposal.

We will continue to promote this concept through the development of the East Herts Local Development Framework and during the consultation on the review of the Regional Plan. We will need your help with both of these public consultations later this year

We would like to thank Hertfordshire County Council for making the legal challenge and giving us a year's breathing space.

We always need volunteers to help with leaflet delivery so please get in touch by return e-mail (mailto:admin@stopharlownorth.com) or via your town / parish council representatives if you want to assist in any way (mailto:team@stopharlownorth.com and include your town/village in the subject line). Your representatives are: Roger Beeching and Angela Alder (Sawbridgeworth), Ian Brett (Widford), Sam Clark (High Wych and Allen's Green), Alan Jenkins (Eastwick and Gilston), Blaise Morris (Much Hadham), Mike Newman (Hunsdon).

If you cannot help in person or simply want to make a donation to the campaign please make cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North' c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT. We will have some large expenses to cover for leafleting during the public consultations this year.

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

P.S. If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter please reply with Unsubscribe in the title of the e-mail

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25 January 2009
January 2009 campaign update from STOP Harlow North

Welcome to the first STOP Harlow north newsletter of 2009.

It will be a busy year.

• There is likely to be a public consultation on the extension of the East of England Plan until 2031 in the spring /summer,

• the judicial review of the existing East of England Plan will be heard in court and

• the Issues and Options public consultation for East Herts Core Strategy in the autumn.

We will need you all to respond to these when the time comes.

If you want to be kept informed of the progress with the East Herts LDF (Local Development Framework), of which the Core Strategy is part, contact planningpolicy@eastherts.gov.uk with your details (name, address and e-mail). A form can be downloaded from the East Herts Council website. You may have received the form by post if you are already on the database; please complete and return it.

Here is a short update on some other developments:

1 .We are still awaiting the results of the water cycle study which was requested at the Examination in Public in February 2006 - 3 years ago. There is still no answer as to how the local sewage treatment works might cope.

2 .The Harlow Stansted Transportation Board continues to work on understanding traffic congestion around Harlow and the need (if any), function and position of any bypass. However the recent work at EERA on prioritising Government transport spending up to 2019 (see last newsletter) seems to rule out a Harlow bypass for the next decade. The recent lobbying and petitions by Harlow politicians seem to have come to nothing.

3. Ropemakers sale of its land to the Land Securities / Places for People joint venture is still running its course. It has been since May 2008 and seems to be making very slow progress. Land Securities experienced a 19.7% fall in basic net asset value during the last half year and a £1.7bn pre-tax loss after hefty property write-downs. (Guardian 12th November). We expect they are trying to renegotiate the price.

So far the joint venture has not engaged with the local community. The original Ropemakers (2004) prospectus claimed 'If planning permission is granted by 2007, it is estimated that the first houses could be occupied by 2009/2010'. Thanks to the supporters of STOP Harlow North, the land in question remains peacefully undisturbed.

4. An independent study into broad locations for major new development over the next 20 years has been published by EERA. Three different types of major new development were considered including extensions to existing urban areas, expansion of smaller settlements and the creation of new settlements. John Reynolds, chair of East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) said new government projections that could see between 620,000 and 780,000 new homes built in the region would be 'really frightening' for people. (BBC website 18th Jan 2009)

However, the report recommends that EERA and its member councils give further consideration to:

Large scale growth at Cambridge, Norwich and Chelmsford;

Expansion in Ipswich, Colchester and Bury St Edmunds;

New regional-scale settlements at Huntingdon/Alconbury; the A5120/Midland Mainline Corridor; East Bedfordshire Strategic Corridor; Marston Vale; Braintree area; and South of the A120, east of Stansted.

Harlow is not recommended - strengthening the case for the judicial review.

5. The report from the Hertfordshire Charrette held last summer was published in December 2008. The exercise was led by urban planner Andres Duany and offered Hertfordshire residents and professionals the opportunity to work directly with a design team developing sustainable growth strategies. The Charrette was funded by a combination of local and national sponsors including the County Council, the University, local landowners and a number of organisations and companies based in Hertfordshire. Six strategies were developed; the three highest rated being Transport Oriented Development, a Stand Alone Garden City and Satellite (Garden) Villages. Settlement Extensions, like Harlow north came last but one, just ahead of continuing existing trends (which would not meet the pressures for more housing).

Clearly the studies above do not support the Government's stance on Harlow North and the lack of progress on infrastructure demonstrates the difficulties in delivery.

7. The latest official records for the year ending March 31st 2008 show 557 dwelling were built in East Herts of which 177 were defined as affordable, the numbers for Harlow were only146 dwelling with 80 being affordable. East Herts is pulling it weight.

Finally

8. A complaint by one of our supporters to the Ombudsman about GO-East's actions in preparation of the East of England Plan has passed several stages of scrutiny, and continues to be actively investigated. The Information Commissioner is also now actively investigating a further complaint against GO-East dating from 2006!

We always need volunteers to help with leaflet delivery so please get in touch by return e-mail or via your town / parish council representatives if you want to assist in any way. Your representatives are: Roger Beeching (Sawbridgeworth), Ian Brett (Widford), Sam Clark (High Wych and Allen's Green), Alan Jenkins (Eastwick and Gilston), Blaise Morris (Much Hadham), Mike Newman (Hunsdon).

If you cannot help in person or simply want to make a donation to the campaign please make cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North' c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT. We will have some large expenses to cover for leafleting during the public consultations this year.

We will be in touch as the year progresses

Regards

STOP Harlow North Team

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6 December 2008
Infrastructure before or at the same time as housing growth?

The East of England Regional Assembly warned last week that lack of funding from Central Government will result in only a small number of new transport schemes getting the go ahead over the next ten years. In January EERA will make recommendations on their priorities to Government who will then make the final decision on which schemes are funded.

So what about reducing congestion in and around Harlow before building thousands more houses? Remember politicians have promised the necessary infrastructure will be built before or at the same time as the housing.

About half of the £1.2 billion available from Government up to 2018/19 is already committed to schemes which do not relate to Harlow. 100 schemes have been proposed across the region for the remaining £600 million. In the next five years, 35 schemes costing around £900 million are chasing only £80 million. Any unsuccessful schemes will join the list of 65, as yet uncosted, schemes already competing for funds from 2014- 2019.

The estimate for a Harlow bypass alone is around £200 million. There simply isn't enough money to go around.

Consultants have been commissioned to help make an assessment of the 100 submitted schemes, comparing them with the policies of the East of England Plan.

STOP Harlow North has picked out the three Harlow Schemes to see how they fared.

With money on offer the Harlow Passenger Transport Improvement for £8 million may be the only one of the schemes locally to get a look in. It is ranked as the 9th priority with 112 points from a possible of over 300 points. We believe this scheme is for improvements to the bus and train stations and traffic changes within the town.

Hertfordshire and Essex have submitted different bids for a Harlow relief road of some form after 2014. The Herts bid scores -1 and the Essex bid scores +15 - out of a possible of over 300 points. They barely support the Plan policies, if at all, on these scores. The Essex scheme ranks 49th and the Herts' scheme comes in at 77th.

The proposals for road schemes around Harlow have been judged independently to be a poor fit with the other policies of the East of England Plan. This is no surprise as the whole Harlow North scheme was judged a poor fit at the Examination in Public. The experts keep rejecting it but the Government keeps putting it back. We have always known there would be no money for the infrastructure to support massive housing development around Harlow.

The final prioritisation will also take into account issues such as costs, affordability, value for money and deliverability. It is going to be a bit of a stretch, even for Bill Rammell, MP, to get a scheme from 49th priority to a place where is even seriously considered for funding; especially as it would need one third of all the remaining money.

Harlow politicians need to decide if they still support massive housing expansion when infrastructure to support it is just a pipedream

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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23 November 2008
House of Commons - Environmental Audit Select Committee - calls for regional plans to be suspended

An important, all-party, committee of MPs has endorses the arguments STOP Harlow North put forward at the Examination of the East of England Plan and confirms our view of the changes needed following the 'credit crunch'. It is a sharp criticism of Government policy.

Key points we have taken from the report are:

1. That all regional plans should be suspended until Government has carried out an appraisal of housing targets alongside targets for carbon reduction, waste reduction and sustainability.

2. The Committee is not convinced of the need for ever-increasing housing targets. It views these as unsustainable, and suggests that Government should seek advice from the Sustainable Development Commission on environmental limits to development.

3. The basis of housing forecasts is challenged and assumptions of high economic growth and easy credit are seen as misleading. The Committee believes Government should follow its own economist?s advice and think of building fewer houses in a market downturn.

4. The policy of building 60% of new houses on brown-field sites cannot be maintained. Evidence suggests that only between 10% and 30% is possible. Government needs to clarify how it intends to respond to this.

5. Current policy means that local authorities are unable to resist giving planning permission for land that is not needed. This is diverting activity from brown-field sites and resulting in permissions simply being held in land banks. Government should introduce a 'sequential test' to ensure that brown-field sites are developed before green-field sites are committed.

6. Vacant buildings could produce 1.2 million homes and this has been overlooked. Use of this resource would reduce the environmental impact of development.

7. VAT rules favour demolition and new building but discourage refurbishment of existing buildings. This aspect of VAT legislation should be reviewed.

8. Statistics on Green Belt changes should be explicit about the area lost and not simply record net change. There is a need to strengthen the 'exceptional test'. This ensures that Green Belt is used only as a last resort.

9. The Committee is sceptical about the influence of eco-towns in encouraging sustainable development and asks why such high standards are not to be considered as the norm.

The report not only challenges the Government's 3 million housing target but also says that future housing levels must be closely tied to sustainability, carbon reduction and other environmental objectives. This is proof positive that the Government has paid only lip service to these issues in the past.

This report makes good reading for STOP Harlow north supporters

It can be found here:

Greener homes for the future? An environmental analysis of the Government's house-building plans http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvaud/566/56602.htm

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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31 October 2008
East of England Plan review- update

Dear All

It has been said in the local press that 'Harlow North' is back on the table

Although development north of Harlow is already in the existing East of England Plan published in May 2008, this Plan is subject to a judicial challenge. The outcome is unlikely to be known until early 2009.

However, the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) is now required to complete a review of the Plan by 2011 and extend its coverage to 2031. This review has started and the timetable is attached below. This is what has created the headlines.

There will be three more opportunities for public consultation and another Examination in Public (EiP) !!!

Although it is hard to see how the Government can properly run all these public consultations and an Examination in Public in the given time, STOP Harlow North intends to play a full part in this process.

We will provide simple mechanisms for as many people as possible to easily contribute to every stage of the consultation. Once (or maybe three times) again we will need your continued support and your full participation in the process. We will continue to provide reasoned arguments for why development north of Harlow is unsustainable, wrong in principle and wrong in practise.

We aim to obtain a seat at the Examination in Public again to argue our case. Remember it was the independent Inspector at the first EiP who rejected development north of Harlow, only to be overruled by Government ministers. Of course, there will also be a general election sometime during the review.

To further complicate matters East Herts Council are also developing their Local Development Framework, LDF, (the new Local Plan) during this time. It is important that this LDF also shows the level of opposition to Harlow North . We will need you to respond to consultations on this as well. Once again we will make it simple for you to make your views known

Please, please respond each time we ask. Don't leave it to others or think because you responded last time you don't need to do so again. Presumably the Government thinks we will give up and go away - don't let them get away with it. The first request will probably come next spring.

If you can offer your services for leaflet delivering please get in touch and of course we always need financial contributions to cover our production costs

If you can make a contribution to our fighting fund please send cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North', c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, SG12 8NT

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

TIMETABLE

May 2008 to Early 2009 Develop evidence base and commission technical studies

Jan to Jul 2009 Prepare development scenarios, including sustainability appraisal, strategic environmental assessment and habitats directive and consult on options. Revise generic policies.

Aug to Dec 2009 Prepare draft regional spatial strategy

By end 2009 Approve and submit draft regional strategy

During 2010 Testing the draft Plan - consultation on draft regional strategy and Examination in Public Government publishes Proposed Changes to the spatial aspects of the draft regional strategy for consultation

By end 2010 Publication of regional strategy

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23 June 2008
Hertfordshire County Council mounts legal challenge to East of England Plan

Dear All,

Thank you to all of you who have visited our website in the last week and signed our petition calling for a judicial review of the East of England Plan. We gathered over 1,350 names which were forwarded to Hertfordshire County Council and East Herts Council.

Hertfordshire County Council has today decided to mount a legal challenge to the government's East of England Plan.

Leader of the Council, Robert Gordon said: "The government has presided over a flawed process and has left us with no choice but to challenge the Plan through the Courts."

He added "In particular, we believe that the government has failed to consider alternatives to the proposed growth areas and has failed to carry out adequate environmental assessments under the relevant regulations and directives. The rationale for the major development in Hertfordshire, north of Harlow, is flawed and the Plan fails to address transport and sewerage infrastructure needed to support this scale of growth."

The full press release can be found here: http://www.hertsdirect.org/EofEchallenge

Obviously the STOP Harlow North campaign is delighted. We too believe there have been fundamental flaws in the process of developing the plan. We have offered all our manpower, files and data to the local authorities to help pursue this challenge

Over the last few years, in three public consultations, there have been over 15,000 responses in opposition to the proposals for development north of Harlow . The independent planning inspector ruled against development north of Harlow. The Government has ignored them all. We will now see them in court

Thanks again for your support.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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12 May 2008
East of England Plan Published

We are deeply disappointed by the publication of the East of England Plan.

The proposals for Harlow North have been included despite massive public opposition and without addressing the many serious planning flaws we have highlighted.

We have always argued that the plans for at least 10,000 houses north of Harlow were fundamentally flawed, unnecessary, unsustainable and undemocratic.The independent Inspector agreed with our planning arguments and rejected these proposals at the Examination in Public after studying all the evidence. The Government has overturned this decision without providing a good reason.

It may be necessary for the courts to rule on whether the Government's actions are lawful. We will be consulting with others on the next steps.

At the launch Barbara Follett, MP, Minister for the East of England, likened the Plan to one of Baldrick's "cunning plans". We would like to remind the Minister that, as anyone familar with Blackadder will know, Baldrick's plans were usually unsound and led to utter chaos.

Our campaign goes on. There are still many ways of defeating this plan.

If you can make a contribution to our fighting fund please send cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North', c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon SG12 8NT

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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30 April 2008
Ropemakers bail out from Harlow North

Land Securities and Places for People today announced the formation of a 50:50 joint venture which will acquire in excess of 2,400 acres of land to the north of Harlow. The majority of the 2,400 acres will be purchased from Ropemaker Properties for an undisclosed sum and is subject to the site's inclusion in the final East of England Plan which has yet to be published.

This changes nothing for our campaign. We have fought Ropemaker Properties Limited for 15 years and have now finally defeated them. They have withdrawn from the battle battered and scarred. They have offloaded a millstone round their necks. The endless rounds of proposals and studies must have been a significant drain on their resources over many years. Land Securities and Places for People may have bitten off more than they can chew.

We will be fighting every step of the way. We will continue to make our arguments against the unsustainable proposals for development north of Harlow; the lack of infrastructure (water, sewage, rail, roads, schools and hospitals) and lack of jobs.

Our communities have been under threat since Maplecroft was first proposed in 1993. We have successfully fought every plan to build on these green fields. We expect the land north of Harlow to be green fields for the next 15 years and beyond.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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24 February 2008
New flight path proposals reduce noise from Stansted – unless you live at Harlow North

In February 2008, the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) issued proposals for a widespread rearrangement of flight paths into and out of UK airports to reduce over flying of built-up areas (see http://www.consultation.nats.co.uk ). These proposals should give a marked reduction in noise levels in the East Herts and West Essex settlements that are affected by air traffic using the easterly approach into Stansted. Good news for the 'would be' developers of Harlow North, then?. Well not exactly. Visit our website and take a look at 'Aircraft Noise' (left hand menu). Run your mouse over the bottom picture to see where the proposed development is in relation to the new flighpath.

'I don't think they could have designed a route more directly over the proposed location of Harlow North' said Nigel Clark Secretary STOP Harlow North

'To deliberately place at least 10,000 new homes in such a location , where they will be subject day and night to the noise, inconvenience, pollution and potential danger from a rapidly increasing number of low flying aircraft, is not only unsound planning practice but would be irresponsible

Issued by Nigel Clark Secretary STOP Harlow North

Feb 2008 Notes to editors:

1. A previous study has indicated the problem of over flying:

A Study of the relationship between Transport and Development in the London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough Growth Area. Colin Buchanan and Partners & GVA Grimley, August 2004 commissioned by ODPM

'10.10.4 There is no minimal impact land around Harlow, due to landscape sensitivity and significant partial and absolute constraints. Land to the north of Harlow was considered to be the most sensitive and development here would have significant environmental impacts. Absolute constraints that were identified included Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs), floodplain and the eastern section of the search area is located within the 57 dB(A) Leq Noise contour. These absolute constraints would preclude development completely. In addition, there are also a high concentration of partial constraints that consequently overlap to the north of Harlow. These include the 54 dB(A) Leq noise contour, areas of archaeological significance and an abundance of county wildlife sites distributed across the whole of the search area. In terms of landscape sensitivity, 90% of the area is within moderate to high landscape sensitivity.'

2. In its response to the Harlow Options Study the Government Office concluded in relation to land to the north of Harlow that:

'Any development of additional runway capacity and/or operational measures to reduce flying over Harlow could worsen the situation here. Consequently housing development here may be best regarded as only a longer term possibility ...'

GO-East response (dated 1 August 2003) to the Harlow Options Study, Draft Final Report quoted by Herts County Council in submission to the Examination in Public

3. In their submission to the Examination in Public Herts County Council stated:

'Noise levels will cause disturbance and the implications of a second runway are not known.' and

'Development northwards would be under the landing flightpath of Stansted Airport for which there are major expansion plans. This does not represent sound planning practice. To locate major housing development under the flightpath of an airport for which expansion plans would raise the throughput ... would be irresponsible'

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15 February 2008
Two years on and still no water cycle study

Two years ago STOP Harlow North went to the Examination in Public confident in their arguments that proposals for Harlow North were flawed. We had great public support in the gallery.

As we left a developer turned to us and said 'You've won'. He was right. The independent Panel threw out development north of Harlow.

In Dec 2006 the Government undermined the whole planning process, the first public consultation and Examination in Public by rejecting the Panel's recommendation. Undaunted we have generated over 5,500 responses to the public consultation on the proposed changes (March 2007) and over 6,500 responses to the last public consultation on the further proposed changes (Dec 2007).

However, more significantly the Environment Agency stated two years ago at the EiP:

'The rivers in this sub-region are characterised by low flows and already receive significant discharges of treated effluent from existing development. There is effectively no additional capacity available from existing sewage treatment works'. They also stated 'New development would need to be accompanied from the beginning by the necessary new infrastructure. We are not confident that this could be achieved in all locations proposed by the Plan and by other participants.'

The independent Panel asked the Government and relevant agencies to prepare a note urgently on possible ways forward on the water and sewerage issues around Harlow. Two years later the necessary water cycle study has not yet started and funding is even not in place.

Building north of Harlow is unnecessary, unsustainable and undemocratic.

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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6 January 2008
Thanks for your support; 2008 will be an interesting year

As we start a new year for the campaign I would like to thank you all for your support in 2007.

We started last year with a consultation on the draft East of England Plan and finished it with another. Thank you to all of you who sent in your responses twice!

We held another successful Meet-in the Middle rally in the summer and stepped up our media activity. We were featured in articles in the Times and Daily Telegraph and had appearances on national news programmes. Local news coverage was a good as ever. We even started our own Facebook group. Our summer letter writing campaign to Government Ministers took our case directly to Westminster.

2008 promises to be an interesting year.

The Government will try to publish the East of England Plan. However the flaws in both process and content; especially on environmental issues including water supply and sewage treatment may lead to a judicial review. We will continue to need your support.

In the meantime Lorie Woodland, a BA Hons in Interior and Architectural Design, is writing a dissertation on the role architecture plays in shaping communities. She has chosen to focus on Harlow New Town and the proposal for Harlow North. She is interested in people's opinions of the effect that Harlow North will have on existing communities in Harlow and East Herts. She has constructed a questionnaire which is on our website. If you have views please participate.

All the best for 2008 Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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15 November 2007
Council rejects development plan for north of Harlow

Dear All,

Thank you for your support during the public consultation on the East of England Plan. The consultation closes at 5pm on Tuesday so there are just a few days left if you have not reponded. Please visit our website to do so.

On Friday we delivered the first batch of over 6,500 separate responses to GO-East in Cambridge. They have already received hundreds of postcards from our supporters. We also presented our formal response with a consultant's technical report which concludes that "the Plan is unsound and not capable of being delivered."

We have worked closely with East Herts Council throughout the planning process and welcome their response to the Plan (copied below). With the residents, parish, town, district and county councils in Hertfordshire united against this development the Government would be foolish to ignore such a weight of opinion and concrete over our countryside.

Over the three public consultations on the Plan since 2004 an ever increasing number of responses opposing Harlow north have been submitted to the Government ; 3,500 in the first, 5,550 in the second and now well in excess of 7,000.

The independent Inspector rejected buliding north of Harlow in the summer of 2006. We now hope the Government will also do so in the spring of 2008.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

Council rejects development plan for north of Harlow

Introduction

December 14, 2007 EAST Herts Council has reiterated its total opposition to government plans to develop land north of Harlow.

The development proposal is included in the East of England Plan which allows for at least 32,000 new homes in East Hertfordshire including up to 20,000 north of Harlow and 12,000 in the rest of East Herts. The final version is due to be published early next year and will run until 2021.

The council has called on the government to remove the proposals for land north of Harlow from the Plan and reconsider them, following more detailed studies, in the next Plan that will run to 2031.

This is in part because the council believes the government has failed to carry out an infrastructure study into how the Rye Meads water treatment plant would cope with the massively increased demand.

The council has also said it believes the Plan will have adverse effects on sites of European and international importance for nature conservation, in particular the Lea Valley Special Protected Area. The response to Government has been made as part of a further eight week consultation, which ended on December 18, about protected habitats.

The council's comments come after the government published its further proposed changes to the Plan in October.

Mike Carver, East Herts Council's Executive member for planning policy and transport, said: "We have tried to be helpful in our response to Government. We've focused our objections on the north of Harlow, rather than other parts of the Plan. We still maintain our opposition to the development north of Harlow, and we don't see how that area can even be considered for development without a relevant infrastructure study."

ENDS

Note to editors: The council's comments, which come in the form of recommendations, are due to become council policy on Friday, December 14. They are then subject to a five day period during which they can be called in for re-examination, on the request of at least four councillors, by a scrutiny committee.

The full report can be found at http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/ by following the links from Council and democracy to Executive non key decisions.

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1 November 2007
Further Harlow North public consultation- please respond

The Government has published further Proposed Changes to the East of England Plan for public consultation

The Government continues to ignore its own Inspectors' well-founded recommendations to reject building north of Harlow!

You now have a further opportunity to tell them they have got it wrong.

How can you comment? •

Complete the response form on our website. http://www.stopharlownorth.com/ •

Write directly to: Regional Planning Team, GO-East, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8DF, or complete a Government response form on line. •

Simply return one of the postcards we will be distributing, fill in your name and address and post it back to GO-East

responses to be received no later than 5pm on 18th December 2007 Please get all family members to respond separately and encourage all your friends and neighbours to respond. We need thousands of responses.

Thanks again for your support

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

P.S. You can now join our Facebook group. Just search for STOP Harlow North. It would be great to see you on-line

Why do I need to respond again?

The East of England Plan is the document that sets out the strategy to guide planning and development in the East of England to the year 2021. It will affect your quality of life for decades.

The independent Panel appointed by the Government rejected building north of Harlow in June 2006. The Government published its Proposed Changes to the Plan for public consultation in late 2006. The Government ignored the independent Panel and included massive building plans north of Harlow.

The Government is now consulting on further changes in an attempt to comply with environmental legislation which it omitted to do earlier. We believe the work has been inadequate and incomplete and will result in serious environmental harm.

The Government continues to ignore its own Inspectors’ well-founded recommendations!

What do I need to do?

You need to tell the Government AGAIN that you: •

object to the proposals to build at least 10,000 houses in the green fields north of Harlow and the planned Green Belt review to accommodate at least 20,000 houses, doubling the size of the town. •

support the independent Panel recommendation to remove building north of Harlow from the Plan based on their report issued in June 2006 •

make the technical points on our website form relating to water and sewage treatment and the damage the Plan will cause to protected sites. •

object to the over-development of this area which only brings economic, environmental and infrastructure problems, especially those of water supply and sewage treatment, that cannot be easily solved.

Will it make a difference?

The first public consultation resulted in over 3,500 responses on this issue alone and ensured the Inspector listened to our case at the Examination in Public.

The second consultation resulted in over 5,000 responses on Harlow North and forced Government to try and paper over the cracks in its plans. We need to build on this success.

Now we need Hazel Blears, Secretary of State, to hear our message again

Make sure your voice is heard before 5pm on 18th December

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5 October 2007
Have your say on Harlow's development

Dear All,

Harlow Council is consulting over the new version of their Local Plan, now know as the Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF will guide the future development of Harlow and YOUR VIEWS are very important.

An outline of the questions is below but you need to complete the forms on line or download them and use the FREEPOST facility to return them.

The forms are here:

http://www.harlow.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=9428

There is a general survey and one about transport. Please complete both.

You could explain that you want a 'better not bigger Harlow' and that the Green Belt should be protected. You could raise the issues of water supply, sewage treatment, lack of infrastructure, congested roads or overcrowded trains

Please speak up.

If you have any difficulty downloading the forms please let me know and I can send them to you.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

Outline of questions (Please respond via link above not by reply)

LDF General Questionnaire

1. What are the best things about Harlow and what aspects do you feel need improvement / change?

2. Harlow will be growing, what housing issues do we need to address?

3. Where should new homes be built?

4. What types of jobs in Harlow will benefit local people?

5. How can we make the most of our Green spaces?

6. How can we improve Harlows transport network?

7. What do you want Harlow to be like in 10 years time?

8. What can be done to improve the quality of life in Harlow?

Transport Questionnaire

The survey starts with some demographic questions and then asks:

7. If we could only afford one major transportation improvement affecting Harlow what would you like it to be and why?

8. What improvements would make your journeys around Harlow easier?

9. If we build more footpaths/cycleways in Harlow would you use them? Yes/No

If you answered Yes above what improvements would you like to see? If you answered No above, would any other particular improvement encourage you to walk/cycle more?

10. If the bus services were improved would you use them? Yes/No

If you answered Yes above what improvements would encourage you to use buses more? If you answered No above, what would encourage you to use the buses?

11. If the train services were improved would you use them? Yes/No

If you answered Yes above what improvements would encourage you to use trains more? If you answered No above, what would encourage you to use the trains?

12. There are proposals for more houses and jobs in the Harlow area. What transport proposals should accompany these developments?

13. Do you have any other general comments on transportation issues affecting Harlow?

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2 October 2007
STOP Harlow North update October 2007

Dear All,

It has been some time since we last updated you on the STOP Harlow North campaign but as we enter our 4th year it is time to take stock.

Earlier this year over 5,500 people objected to the proposals for Harlow North during the public consultation on the East of England Plan. In June the Government announced a delay to the publication of the Plan as it needs to do more work to ensure compliance with the EU Habitats Directive. The earliest publication date was to be this autumn. Autumn is here but the Plan is not. Why?

Our experts indicate that compliance with the Directive is likely to be problematic and requires considerable work. We have also learnt that the water cycle study ? a study of where the water for all these houses will come from and how the sewage will be treated ? has not yet started. The government is arguing about who should pay!

Debate is also raging about solving Harlow's traffic congestion problems. The Government's plans say Harlow will have to make do without any new roads as a bypass can't be funded in the short term. Existing Harlow residents are urged to walk, cycle and use the bus so 25,000 more cars from at least 16,000 more houses can be added to the roads. Bill Rammell, MP for Harlow, says building the houses will secure the money needed for a new road. Why is that? Surely the Government should use the taxes we already pay to build basic infrastructure to solve existing problems.

There seems to be a theme emerging. The Government can't afford its own plans.

It may be that the Plan will not be published until the Comprehensive Spending Review is complete- ie when all the Government departments have agreed how our taxes will be divided up. Or until after an election!

Whenever it is published it is not likely to go unchallenged.

Over the summer you have responded magnificently to our request to write to Government Ministers. Over 500 letters were sent in. The generic response is on the front page of our website ? the various ministers declined to respond individually. Still this kept the issue of Harlow North alive in their in-trays.

The frontline parishes have also been busy. Both Eastwick and Gilston and Hunsdon are building their parish plans and Sawbridgeworth Town Council has launched a town plan initiative. These plans ? which are built from grass roots feedback ? are a way for the communities to make their own input into the planning process and to promote our vision for Gilston Great Park.

Locally there has been much speculation about an organisation, Places for People (Making Places), agreeing to buy land north of Harlow. We have approached them for a statement but at this time they have 'no announcement to make in relation to Harlow'. If this changes they have said they will inform us as a priority. Ropemakers indicate they have not entered into a contractual agreement with Places for People or any development partner.

So the work goes on and we continue to need your support. We don?t have formal membership fees but ask for a £10 donation each year to help fund our ongoing work. We now need money to prepare our technical and legal challenges to the Plan.

Please send cheques payable to 'STOP Harlow North' to Treasurer SHN, c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT or use our website form if you want to join those who make regular contribution by standing order.

Thank you for your support.

Best wishes

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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18 June 2007
SHN campaign continues with a rally on June 24th

Dear All,

I would like to thank all the STOP Harlow North supporters for responding to the public consultation on the draft East of England Plan earlier this year. Last week GO-East announced a further delay in publishing the Plan as some basic environmental work had not been done; something we pointed out some time ago.

Our campaign continues with a rally on June 24th in the centre of Eastwick at 1pm. We are encouraging people to enjoy the countryside and to walk from their villages on the public footpaths to “Meet in the Middle” for a family BBQ and picnic for the third year running. All are welcome; please join us there even if you can’t make the walk. We will be launching a mass letter signing initiative to keep up the pressure on the Government.

Mark Prisk, MP and others will address the rally in the early afternoon.

I hope to see you next Sunday

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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27 May 2007
Come and join the STOP Harlow North rally on Sunday June 24th

Please join our rally to protest against Ropemaker’s damaging proposals for 25,000 houses north of Harlow. This development could engulf our villages, destroy our quality of life and threaten the regeneration of Harlow. Come and enjoy the beautiful countryside that is still under threat from developers.

Although the independent Panel report on the draft East of England Plan recommended that Harlow North be rejected Ruth Kelly, MP reinstated the proposals last December. Thousand of our supporters responded to the public consultation this spring and we still await news of the final outcome. We need you to demonstrate your continuing opposition to these proposals

We would like you and your friends and family to join us in walking from your village to "Meet in the Middle" at Eastwick at around 1pm on June 24th. Please use the public footpaths and enjoy the fresh air.

We will be holding a BBQ and picnic at the end of the walks in the centre of Eastwick village opposite the Lion pub. Feel free to bring your own food or buy from our BBQ.

Even if you can’t join a walk please join us in Eastwick at 1pm on June 24th

A number of speakers will address the rally in Eastwick in the early afternoon.

If you can help on the day with the BBQ, stewarding or leading a walk please let us know.

You may also want to attend a debate organised by the faith community at St Paul's Church, Harlow Town Centre on Friday 8th June 2007 at 7.30 pm. The meeting will be an opportunity for all who are interested in the proposed development in Harlow North to come together for an 'extended conversation' about the potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented by the proposal

We are currently in discussion with a documentary film maker to televise both these events. Please come along; you may become a film star!

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

If you want more details of walks from each village for "Meet in the Middle" please contact your local rep on:

Eastwick & Gilston eastwick&gilston@stopharlownorth.com

High Wych highwych@stopharlownorth.com

Hunsdon hunsdon@stopharlownorth.com

Much Hadham muchhadham@stopharlownorth.com

Sawbridgeworth sawbridgeworth@stopharlownorth.com

Widford widford@stopharlownorth.com

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10 March 2007
5,000 local residents object to Harlow North development

Stop Harlow North have estimated that over 5,000 individual objections had been submitted to GO-EAST as part of the consultation on the East of England Development Plan by the deadline of 5pm March 9th

Speaking on behalf of Stop Harlow North, Nigel Clark today commented:

We are greatly encouraged by the outpouring of support for the campaign to halt this unsustainable and ill thought through development.

Thousands of local residents expressed their concern over:

The way the independent inspector's recommendations were rejected;

The lack of infrastructure for road, rail, water and sewage treatment;

The destruction of vast areas of green belt land;

And the damage the proposal will have on the long term regeneration of Harlow.

We don't see the Government paying the £1 billion infrastructure bill to deliver this scheme, and these costs will undoubtedly be passed on to local taxpayers and local industry.

This development is neither sustainable nor deliverable, and will not address local housing need. The government needs to go back to the drawing board.

Efforts will now step up to promote Gilston Great Park as an alternative to these massive housing plans which would bring concrete, congestion and chaos to Harlow and East Herts.

Thanks go to everyone of our supporters who made their own individual contribution to the campaign.

Yours

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North on behalf of the whole team

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2 March 2007
Last chance to speak up for a "better not bigger Harlow" and to protect your green spaces

All,

We have had a marvellous response to our campaign; over 2,200 people have responded on line and we believe over 1,500 postcards and other coupons have been returned to GO-East. The opposition to building 10,000 or more homes north of Harlow is growing day by day and we will win this battle.

There are just 7 days left before the public consultation closes on March 9th and I have a special request.

Could I ask each and every one of you to get at least one more person to submit a representation via our website?

http://www.stopharlownorth.com/response_2.htm

What about your kids, granny, nephew, cousin, neighbour, work colleague, old school friend, the list you use to send those amusing things you find on the internet?

We have had responses from China to Cornwall. Every one is welcome. If we all get one more person we could double our impact.

Have you done everything you can to stop this unnecessary and unsustainable scheme?

If you still have questions please read the press releases on our website or get in touch. You can read what other people think below.

Best wishes and thanks for all your support

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

http://www.stopharlownorth.com/

"I personally would like nothing at Harlow North..."

Stan Newans- Former MP for Harlow- STAR February 8th 2007 "Let us be clear. Harlow does not need 20,000 or 13,000 or 7,000 new homes. Harlow's actual need is for no more than 4,000 council houses and even that figure is open to question. Any demand in excess of this number is artificially created."

Jim Rogers former Harlow Council leader STAR Feb15th 2007 The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) today (Friday, 2nd February 2007) said the Government's proposed changes to the draft East of England Plan were "neither deliverable nor sustainable" and expressed "extreme disappointment" at the lack of funding to support infrastructure needed in the region.

"Harlow North will decimate our town. ... I think reading that proposal gives it credence it doesn't deserve. It's unnecessary, unsustainable and undemocratic"

Roger Beeching - Deputy Mayor of Sawbridgeworth. Hertfordshire Observer, September 16, 2004 "Bishop's Stortford Chamber of Commerce in no way advocates the building of Harlow North"

Les Pinnell - Chairman of Bishop's Stortford Chamber of Commerce, November 4, 2004 "The proposal for the threatened development is singularly without merit and should be ruled out at an early stage"

Bill Rammell Harlow Citizen February 1999

"There are problems with development across a county border and across a river. The environment of the area has to be preserved"

Paul Sztumpf - Essex County Council Labour leader. Harlow Star, August 5, 2004 "The plans are unnecessary. The Government's own figures show there are 12,500 acres of brownfield in the south-east which could provide 350,000 extra homes. It's also unsustainable because we don't have the infrastructure"

Robert Halfon - Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Harlow. Harlow Star, August 5 2004 "The fact that I am Chairman of the House Builders Federation Planning Committee does not in any way mean that we support or are indeed associated with the Harlow North proposal"

Nicholas H Smith, Chairman of the House Builders Federation Planning Committee, 7th Sept 2004 "I must disabuse you of any notion that I or the Royal Town Planning Institute is 'associating' with the Harlow North proposal"

Michael Hayes, President Royal Town Planning Institute 2004, 12th Sept 2004

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26 February 2007
GO-East disappoint at public meeting

On Thursday Feb 22nd Hunsdon Village Hall was packed to the rafters for a special public meeting on the East of England Plan. The turnout was over four times that achieved from the poorly attended and restrictive meeting organised by Harlow Council the previous Saturday.

Cllr David Gibbs, Chair Hunsdon parish council, invited Julian Pitt, Senior Planner from GO-East, to speak first. Mr Pitt uncomfortably delivered a dry and factual account of the Proposed Changes. Unfortunately Mr Pitt failed to tell the meeting that the Regional Assembly which original drew up the Plan had withdrawn its endorsement of the Plan and now labelled it "neither sustainable nor deliverable"

Mr Pitt closed by asking for people to respond to the public consultation. STOP Harlow North supporters, Alan Hampton, Stella Oliver and Amy Clark representing three generations of residents, took him on his word and handed over three boxes containing the first instalment of 2,000 representations received by the campaign

Nigel Clark from STOP Harlow North addressed the meeting explaining the specific issues around the Ropemaker's site and the 10,000 to 25,000 homes proposed north of Harlow. He explained why the Harlow North Development is not sustainable, either environmentally or economically, and how the planning process has been opaque and undemocratic. He closed by urging support for the community's own vision for an exciting alternative that could provide Harlow and the local region with a major new national park - Gilston Great Park

Cllr Mike Carver, East Herts Council Executive, highlighted the fundamental infrastructure issues challenging East Herts and the lack of Government willingness to properly fund the Plan.

The impact of these massive building plans on the whole of East Herts including, Ware, Hertford and Bishop's Stortford was clearly outlined.

The energetic Q&A session that followed demonstrated the strong opposition to the Plan and the proposal for development north of Harlow. Most of the questions were directed to GO-East; most they failed to answer to the satisfaction of the audience.

"The issues of infrastructure funding, water shortages, sewage treatment, overflying of the site, the Green Belt, sustainability and road and rail congestion were all raised but not really answered by the Government officials" said Nigel Clark

"However the greatest concern was reserved for the most unsatisfactory explanations given for why the independent Panel's recommendations to remove Harlow north from the Plan had been ignored. GO-East could not, or would not answer, which officials had been involved and who had advised Ministers to overrule the Panel they themselves appointed"

Mark Prisk, MP, vowed to get to the bottom of the issues surrounding the planning process.

He thanked the hard working campaign group, SHN, and reiterated the grave concerns there are about the Plan, especially the attack on the Green Belt.

He closed the meeting with a rallying cry for everyone to respond to the public consultation before 5pm on March 9th

People left the meeting incensed that GO-East had not properly answered some fundamental questions but vehement in their determination to respond to the public consultation and carry on the fight.

SHN raised nearly £800 in an impromptu collection at the end of the meeting.

Ruth Kelly's Proposed Changes to the Plan, which include damaging proposals to build up to 20,000 houses north of Harlow, are out for consultation until 9th March. Please respond

You can: •

Complete the form of our website. http://www.stopharlownorth.com/ •

Sign one of our petitions that will be in local shops and pubs •

Return one of the thousands of postcard leaflets we will be distributing •

Write directly to

Regional Planning Team, GO-East, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8DF, responses to be received no later than 5pm on 9 March 2007 Issued by

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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27th December 2006
Responding to Ruth Kelly's damaging Proposals

In the run up to Christmas that Ruth Kelly issued her Proposed Changes to the East of England Plan.

She has proposed building at least 10,000 and probably 20,000 homes north of Harlow in total disregard of the independent Panel she appointed to examine the Plan.

Ruth Kelly has ignored her own Inspectors' recommendations!

You now have the opportunity to tell her she has got it wrong.

How can I comment?

You can: •

Complete the form of our website. http://www.stopharlownorth.com/ •

Sign one of our petitions that will be in local shops and pubs •

Return one of the thousands of postcard leaflets we will be distributing •

Write directly to

Regional Planning Team, GO-East, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8DF, responses to be received no later than 5pm on 9 March 2007 Please get all family members to respond separately and encourage all your friends and neighbours to respond. We need thousands of responses.

What do I need to do?

You need to tell the Government that you: •

object to the proposals to build at least 10,000 houses in the green fields north of Harlow and the planned Green Belt review to accommodate 20,000 houses •

support the independent Panel recommendation to remove building north of Harlow from the Plan based on their report issued in June 2006

Will it make a difference?

The first public consultation resulted in over 20,000 responses and ensured the Inspector listened to our case at the Examination in Public. Now we need Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State, to hear our message

Make sure your voice is heard before 5pm on March 9th

Click here: http://www.stopharlownorth.com/

If you can help distribute leaflets please send an e-mail to: admin@stopharlownorth.com

If you have not yet sent your membership subscription please do so as we need money to fund this campaign. £10 will fund the printing of 150 leaflets or the posting of 30 letters. We have a few thousand to send!

STOP Harlow North (SHN) campaign group is conducting an in depth analysis of the Proposed Changes and the studies that were meant to have informed it. We have a team of professionals with years of experience working on producing our comprehensive response to the consultation. The Plan has fundamental flaws that must be highlighted. However nothing can replace your individual responses to the public consultation; your passion and the number of responses will count.

Issued by

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

http://www.stopharlownorth.com/

Note:

Please note that Harlow Council has asked for views on their website. They will not be forwarding any comments they receieve to the Government but only using them to form their own view.

Please do not use the Harlow Council website if you want to formally respond to Ruth Kelly.

All responses via our website will be sent to both Ruth Kelly's department and Harlow Council

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4 November 2006
November update from STOP Harlow North

Dear All,

September and October have seen an unprecedented number of visits to our campaign website.

In September we had a fantastic response to our request for people write to Ropemakers. All in all there were over a thousand responses. We don't know the exact number as Ropemakers are refusing to provide any details of the number of letters they received or the issues people raised. They now also state they do not intend to respond to individuals. This is from a company that promised an open and transparent dialogue with the community. It was however important we did this as Ropemakers should disclose the information if and when they make a planning application. If you have any friends or family who have not yet responded to Mr Dimoldenberg they can still do so here: http://www.stopharlownorth.com/response.htm

However this was just the dress rehearsal. Later this year the Government will publish its Proposed Changes to the Plan and they will be subject to public consultation. This consultation is likely to start just before Christmas and may last 8 or 12 weeks. We already have preparations in hand and will let you know how to respond. Even if the Government accepts the Panel recommendation to remove Harlow North we still have to write in as others will be lobbying against us and many of the infrastructure issues may not have been addressed. If you have some time, even just an hour or so, to distribute leaflets in January or February please get in touch.

In mid October we launched our proposals for Gilston Great Park and have had a wonderful response. (See below). The report sets out an exciting prospect for the area north of Harlow as 'actively managed countryside' which could meet both Ropemakers financial needs and the communities' aspirations. It provides a viable alternative to unsustainable housing development. The full report is available for download in pdf format on http://www.stopharlownorth.com/GGP.htm. Please send us your comments.

Professor David Lock, Chair of Town and County Planning Association responded to our proposals for Gilston Great Park saying amongst other things 'Harlow is a most carefully designed town in a splendid setting. Its further extension needs serious local debate. 'What happens when Harlow is full up' however is a question that none of us should duck' and 'If a town is full up, another must be expanded or a new one started'. He concluded 'Your document is very clear and professional, and must command serious attention at the local level'.

East Herts Council also has confirmed that the principles and approach of Gilston Great Park are consistent with the current planning policies both in the existing Local Plan and the emerging Local Plan and with policies pertaining to the Green Belt and landscape character assessments. We are hoping to work in partnership with the Council to explore how discussions about Gilston Great Park can be progressed.

If you have not yet sent your membership subscription please do so as we need to fund our campaign to respond to the Proposed Changes to the East of England Plan.

£10 will fund the printing of 150 leaflets or the posting of 30 letters. We have a few thousand to send!

Once again thank you for your help in protecting this wonderful part of the country.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

Here are a few of the responses we have received to out Gilston Park Proposals. I have removed the contributors' names to protect the innocent:

Thanks for advice on this Report I shall read it with interest. I am sure any scheme that precludes large scale housing on greenbelt land will be beneficial to our community as a whole.

Given that there is widespread belief among current residents of Harlow that Ropemakers' Harlow North would attract desperately-needed funding, housing and jobs away from the town (a view shared by the independent inspector of the draft East of England Plan), to say nothing of the massive antagonism to Ropemakers' proposals from Hertfordshire residents who would be affected, then the Gilston Great Park proposition looks a cleverly constructed and thought out compromise.

Gilston Great Park - managed countryside - superb idea. Speaking as a teacher, there ought to be an educational centre which I am sure would attract visits from local schools.

What a good idea to make it a park. The Ramblers will of course support the idea.

Your group has produced a very positive and imaginative vision of the area north of Harlow. It is a very refreshing alternative to the depressing prospect of a huge housing conurbation. It demonstrates that economic regeneration and quality of life can go hand in hand. I am sure that local people will welcome your proposal with great enthusiasm. Stort Valley Friends of the Earth hope that we will see this development taken forward in the near future.

I have read the supporting document and think it is a great idea, particularly housing to benefit local people in the village communities who struggle to stay on the land down the generations. It’s quite a smart move because if they oppose it will show their true colours but it just might give them enough to square the books and be seen as local heros.

I support this excellent concept and I am very keen for this area to be protected against unnecessary development.

What a marvelous idea, as a daily walker in the countryside around here with my dog I am very keen indeed to see the land preserved for future users like myself. I am sure that regular walking in the fresh air is very beneficial to both mental and physical health and wellbeing and should be cherished at all cost.

Reads well, is exciting and very thought provoking

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15 October 2006
Land to the north of Harlow - Actively Managed Countryside

This weekend STOP Harlow North publishes an exciting report on proposals for the area north of Harlow as "actively managed countryside". The suggested name is Gilston Great Park.

The land to the north of Harlow has been subject to a number of house building proposals since the early 90?s. Each in turn has been rejected; most recently in the Panel Report into the draft East of England Plan published in June 2006 2

The reasons for rejecting building thousands of houses north of Harlow were comprehensive, including the high quality environment that would be destroyed, the lack of infrastructure and a rejection of the notion that such development would aid the regeneration of Harlow.

The various stakeholders in the area perceive the value of this land in different terms. The principal land owners, Ropemaker Properties Ltd, the property arm of the BP Pension fund, obviously have a financial interest, whereas local communities value the land in its current state as an environmental resource. These two views appear to be diametrically opposed and in the meantime the area is stagnating as there is little incentive to invest in the land as it lacks a stable long term plan. Is there a way out of this impasse?

The report sets out an exciting prospect for the area as "actively managed countryside" which could meet both Ropemakers financial needs and the communities' aspirations. It provides a viable alternative to unsustainable housing development.? stated Nigel Clark Secretary of STOP Harlow North, the publishers of the report.

"I have long held the view that this beautiful countryside needs protecting for the long term. It is a green lung, not just for local people, but for the region as a whole. The idea therefore of creating Gilston Great Park is one which deserves the most serious consideration. If successful it would mean we could hand on something of incalculable benefit to the generations who come after us." added Mark Prisk MP, Hertford & Stortford

The report has also been warmly welcomed by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and Friends of the Earth.

"The Gilston Great Park proposal is a ground breaking piece of work that deserves support from all those that care about both the environment of Essex and Hertfordshire as a whole and Harlow in particular and the quality of life of people who live and work in the area. It is a prime example of working with nature for the benefit of all, preserving and enhancing the best while promoting improvements, like extended woodlands, and small scale development appropriate to the area. It is reminiscent of the care and long term planning that went into the development of the great country estates of England but with the added bonus of public involvement in the planning and execution and enjoyment of the fruits of their labour."

Mary Edwards, Friends of the Earth Regional Campaigns Co-coordinator, East of England

"CPRE Hertfordshire is pleased to add its support to the proposal for Gilston Great Park. We especially welcome the policy to retain viable agriculture as the predominant land-use in the park, and endorse the aim to increase woodland cover form 6% to over 25% thus generating a significant carbon sink locally. There is increasing evidence that regular visits to the countryside can enhance mental well-being and counter the stresses of modern urban living. Public accessibility will be central to these proposals and will enhance Harlow's attractiveness and its regeneration as a place to live and work. Gilston Great Park could become a model for countryside management in urban fringe locations."

Kevin Fitzgerald, Hon. Director, CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society.

"STOP Harlow North would welcome comment and constructive debate on the ideas either by letter, email or via our website, www.stopharlownorth.com. We would be happy to meet to discuss the ideas in more detail if people consider that would be both helpful and appropriate." concluded Mr Clark

Issued by

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North 1.

STOP Harlow North is dedicated to positively and actively opposing proposals by Ropemaker Properties Limited and its associated landowners to create a major development north of Harlow around the Hertfordshire villages of Eastwick, Gilston, High Wych, Hunsdon and Widford, and the town of Sawbridgeworth, on the basis that the locality needs: a.

•A better Harlow, not a bigger Harlow. Any development north of Harlow will compete with the existing town and hamper its regeneration b.

•To protect our environment. Greenbelt is there for a reason and should not be built on until all other alternatives have been exhausted. c.

•To protect the unique identity and historic character of rural villages d.

•To bring back fairness and democracy in the strategic planning process. 2.

The Panel report into the draft East of England Plan stated : "5.95 We therefore conclude that the strategy should refocus on the opportunities within Harlow and other directions of growth to the east, south and west of the town, reflecting the conclusions of the Growth Area Study (SRS10 paragraph 11.6.21) and the proposals originally contained in the "banked draft" RPG14. Although this also means a reduction in the overall housing provision allocated to this part of the sub-region, we do not consider it should impair the achievement of an early gain in housing output. On the contrary, we would see a strategy concentrating on a number of directions for growth, while avoiding the distractions of planning for major "satellite" settlements as capable of producing early progress in development and securing gains for regeneration within the town" 3.

The 23 page report has been distributed to councillors in East Herts, Harlow, Epping Forest, Hertfordshire and Essex along with a number of Government Agencies, business groups and infrastructure providers. Over 200 copies have been distributed. 4.

The full report is available for download in pdf format on http://www.stopharlownorth.com/GGP.htm

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10 September 2006
STOP PRESS: Respond to Ropemaker's glossy

Sorry to send you another e-mail so quickly but we need your help urgently.

The Inspector's report on the East of England Plan was a great endorsement for the arguments put forward by STOP Harlow North but bad news for Ropemakers the land owners. As anticipated we are now seeing their reaction; a glossy news-sheet has been delivered to all Harlow residents which paints a picture of all the "benefits" they claim Harlow North would bring - the same arguments that the Inspector saw straight through and rejected.

Unfortunately the news-sheet was not delivered to many in East Herts, those most affected by the development proposals.

The news-sheet invites recipients to send their comments to Paul Dimoldenberg - a director of Good Relations, the public relations company hired by Ropemakers to lobby on their behalf. Presumably they are expecting positive comments to use to support their case.

We would like you to send your comments to Paul Dimoldenberg, and hopefully you will tell him that you think the Inspector was right, and that Ropemakers have got it wrong.

We have prepared an automated response form which will send a pre-prepared standard email to Mr Dimoldenberg. You can access it here http://www.stopharlownorth.com/response.htm

Just add your name and email address before clicking the 'submit' button.

If you wish send them a fuller response you can write to: Harlow Consultation FREEPOST LON 14055 London WC2 1BR

If you could send us a copy of any letters, it would be very helpful.

Please speak up (and tell all your family and friends). The automated form takes less than 10seconds to submit.

Many thanks

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

www.stopharlownorth.com

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8th September 2006
September 2006 SHN update

Harlow Citizen e-vote results. (over 500 respondents) Should Harlow North plans be scrapped? Yes, we must protect our district 72.8% Yes, the whole East of England Plan must go 22.5% No, not at the expense of the rest of the county 0.9% No, we need more houses 3.8% Our SHN campaign is now two years old and this anniversary marks the start of our campaign for the second phase of public consultation. The Harlow Citizen e-vote above, which ran for six weeks over the summer, is obviously great encouragement.

There is quite a lot to update you on so I apologise for the length of this note in advance.

In June we told you that Ropemaker's proposals for Harlow North have been recommended for removal from the Plan by the independent Planning Inspector. The Panel's recommendations are now being considered by the Government with a view to publishing Proposed Changes for public consultation in late 2006. We will then have the opportunity to comment.

No new planning arguments have been outlined by any of our opponents however Bill Rammell (Harlow MP) issued an extraordinary statement on the report using rather intemperate language resulting in the Harlow STAR labelling him a NIMBY.

Mr Rammel also apparently spent some of his own ministerial salary circulating letters in Roydon and Nazeing attacking us. Dismayed residents sent us copies! His outburst may have backfired; this newsletter now goes to more people in Harlow than in any village north of Harlow. Our electronic distribution list now exceeds 1,000 with over 2,000 on our mailing list

We can understand that feelings are running high and Mr Rammell must be disappointed - patently as in our meeting with him last summer he indicated the Government would be foolish to ignore the Panel's recommendations. However, there is a proper process to follow and at this stage representations to the Government are prohibited. We have taken legal opinion on these matters which we have shared with the Government so they are aware of our concerns

SHN has presented a set of well researched and well constructed planning arguments that show why Harlow North would harm the regeneration of the town. Mr Rammell's case seems to have been based on a wild hope that BP would fund the entire infrastructure deficit in Harlow. Ropemaker themselves state on their website "Ropemaker Properties Ltd has made no commitment to fund specific infrastructure at this time". Having weighed all the evidence, the Inspector agreed with SHN.

In addition to analysing the Panel report we have been very busy over the summer.

We held another successful "Meet-in the Middle" event in Eastwick on a glorious day in July. Gilston also became the centre of attention for birders the same weekend when a very rare bird in UK - the Pine Grosbeak - was spotted there.On the wildlife front, an ongoing study by British Waterways and the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has unexpectedly found large numbers of water voles thriving in East Herts. Water voles are one of the UK's most endangered species and any building that affects the Stort valley could have a serious impact on them.

The Hertfordshire Ramblers also held a walk around Eastwick in early August which attracted people from across Hertfordshire.

We have responded to the consultations on the development of the local plan (LDF) for Harlow, attended the Regional Assembly in July to ask public questions and held various briefing meetings with local and national politicians. We are also talking with campaign groups in Welwyn and Hatfield to present a unified approach to housing growth plans.

The Briggens estate to the west of Ropemakers land holding, having been up for sale for some time, is now off the market although the reasons are unclear. We can only surmise, now that the hope value for housing development has evaporated, the offers did not look attractive.

We had hoped to engage with the Regeneration Company for Harlow that was announced in March. Appointments were meant to have been made in June but, over five months later, the Chief Executive is not yet in place. This is disappointing as the fanfare accompanying the company's launch stated it would "accelerate the momentum of regeneration initiatives". We urge those involved to get this company staffed as soon as possible. We all want a "better Harlow" without delay.

We also received the complete database of responses to the previous public consultation from the Government after much negotiation. This has enabled us to build a much better picture of our support which extends far beyond those who were notionally assigned "Harlow North objectors". We are now writing to many of these supporters, especially in Harlow.

The Harlow Citizen ran a poll this summer (see above) on whether Harlow North should be scrapped. Over 500 people responded and over 95% of them want the proposals scrapped. When added to Harlow Council's own survey that showed less than half of the residents wanted Harlow North, it is clear that the Council's views are out of step with the public mood.

CPRE published a report in August highlighting the worst performing councils for building on greenfield sites. Harlow was named in the report for only reaching 23% of building on brownfield sites. As a new town it is obviously a difficult area but when people are asking for the existing housing stock to be renewed we think the Council could be more imaginative.

As mentioned above we have gained a significant number of new members. We always need more volunteers for door to door leafleting so please let us know if you can spend an hour or so helping. This will be particularly important during the next round of public consultation.

As we move into our third year we would be grateful if you could renew your subscription. The money will be needed to fund the publication and distribution of leaflets for the next public consultation round.

Please send your £10 cheques to "STOP Harlow North" c/o Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

www.stopharlownorth.com

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13 July 2006
Meet in the Middle (again)

Are you wondering what you can do to help the STOP Harlow North campaign?

Come and join the STOP Harlow North rally on Sunday July 16th

Please join our rally to protest against Ropemaker?s damaging proposals for 25,000 houses north of Harlow. This development could engulf our villages, destroy our quality of life and threaten the regeneration of Harlow. Come and enjoy the beautiful countryside that is still under threat from developers.

Although the Panel report on the draft East of England Plan recommends Harlow North is rejected Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State, still has the final say. We will not know if she has accepted the recommendations until the autumn. Others who support the development proposals are lobbying hard to have the report ignored, we need to work even harder. We need your support

We would like you and your friends and family to join us in walking from your village to ?Meet in the Middle“ at Eastwick at around 1pm on July 16th. Please use the public footpaths and enjoy the fresh air.

We will be holding a BBQ and picnic at the end of the walks in the centre of Eastwick village opposite the Lion pub. Feel free to bring your own food or buy from our BBQ.

Mark Prisk, MP, will address the rally in Eastwick in the early afternoon.

If you can help on the day with the BBQ, stewarding or leading a walk please let us know.

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

If you want more details of walks from each village please contact your local rep on:

Eastwick & Gilston eastwick&gilston@stopharlownorth.com High Wych highwych@stopharlownorth.com Hunsdon hunsdon@stopharlownorth.com Much Hadham muchhadham@stopharlownorth.com Sawbridgeworth sawbridgeworth@stopharlownorth.com Widford widford@stopharlownorth.com

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30 June 2006 Independent Inspector's Report

The Planning Inspector's report on the East of England Plan has been published.

The independent Inspector has concluded that the proposals for 10,000 houses to the north of the Stort should be removed from the Plan.

However, the overall housing numbers for Hertfordshire are still extremely high and will put enormous stress on the county's infrastructure and countryside.

We must keep in mind that there is still a long way to go with our campaign; the recommendations have not yet been adopted by Government.

STOP Harlow North is now launching phase 2 of the campaign to ensure Ruth Kelly, MP, Secretary of State, accepts the changes recommended by the Inspector. Bill Rammell, MP for Harlow told us last year that the Government would be foolish not to do so but you never know. Any changes agreed by Ruth Kelly will be subject to a further round of consultation in late autumn.

The independent Inspector has proposed a regeneration strategy to make "Harlow better". This means finding space for 13,500 homes and obtaining infrastructure funding from the Government but, importantly, the green wedges will be protected. Regeneration should be easier now Harlow will not have to compete for investment with a satellite settlement to the north in East Herts. "Broadening Horizons", scenario 2 of the Harlow Regeneration Strategy, maps out the way forward.

We hope the BP Pension Fund will now work with the local community to find ways to increase access to the countryside and will contribute to implementing the Harlow Green Infrastructure Plan. Their proposals have now been rejected three times over the last decade; at Local, Structure, and now Regional planning levels. BP's corporate responsibility policies ought to dictate that they abandon any development plans and stop putting the community through endless anguish. How much of BP's pensioners' money has been used to promote this hopeless idea and how much public money has had to be spent defending the public interest? We hope BP finally understand the word "No".

STOP Harlow North would like to thank all the hard working and dedicated supporters; those who have given financial support and those who have given of their time. The overwhelming public support for our campaign must have been a factor in the Inspector's decision. Our latest membership drive has seen our supporters list break the 1,000 mark but we still need more people to sign up as there is more work to do.

We would also like to thank Mark Prisk, MP, for his support and East Herts Council and Hertfordshire County Council for all their hard work

Ropemakers are on the back foot but we now have to land the knock out punch. There is a still lot of work to do to prepare for public consultation some time in late autumn.

Phase 2 of our campaign will be launched with a repeat of last years successful Meet in the Middle BBQ to be held in Eastwick on July 16th from 1pm. All are welcome. Please come and enjoy the countryside.

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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For those interested in the detail here are some extracts from the Inspector?s Report :

?2.14 ??. Maintaining the urban focus, closer to London the draft Plan included growth at the former New Towns of Harlow and Stevenage. We have endorsed these (but not the proposals at Harlow north and North Weald), and added Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield and Welwyn. Together with significant development at Basildon as part of the strategy for growth and regeneration in the Thames Gateway, this revival of the growth role of the region?s ring of Mark 1 New Towns is, we believe, sound in terms of their ability to embrace growth in housing and employment and to do so more sustainably than elsewhere. The growth focus in the arc around London is completed by regeneration-led growth in the Thames Gateway at Thurrock.

5.94 In conclusion we recognise that the proposals at Harlow north and North Weald would be capable of producing a large amount of additional housing in due course, as well as jobs and supporting infrastructure. However, in view of the need to invest in the HQPT and resolve the strategic water cycle issues we would not see either location making a major contribution until the latter half of the Plan period. Even then, and assuming water cycle and transport issues could be resolved, there are also objections on landscape and other environmental grounds, particularly for Harlow north, and there remain questions about whether the dynamism of relatively self-contained development at both locations could be made to support the functioning and regeneration of Harlow.

The proposed strategy, in relying on ?satellite? settlements rather than urban extensions integrated with the town, runs the risk that these will function as rival attractions in terms of the housing market and economic activity.

5.95 We therefore conclude that the strategy should refocus on the opportunities within

Harlow and other directions of growth to the east, south and west of the town, reflecting the conclusions of the Growth Area Study (SRS10 paragraph 11.6.21) and the proposals originally contained in the ?banked draft? RPG14. Although this also means a reduction in the overall housing provision allocated to this part of the sub-region, we do not consider it should impair the achievement of an early gain in housing output. On the contrary, we would see a strategy concentrating on a number of directions for growth, while avoiding the distractions of planning for major ?satellite? settlements as capable of producing early progress in development and securing gains for regeneration within the town.?

And?..

?R5.10 Delete Policies ST1 to ST7. Include a policy for Harlow as a Key Centre for

Development and Change in the sub-regional chapter of the RSS as follows:

Harlow

The strategy for Harlow as a Key Centre for Development and Change is:

(1) To promote the renaissance of the New Town through developing its role as a regional housing growth point, Regional Retail Centre and Strategic Employment Location. Regeneration, redevelopment and new urban development will be combined with transport measures and enhancement and conservation of green infrastructure to fulfil this strategy.

(2) LDDs will provide for a total of 13,500 additional dwellings between 2001 and 2021, including some development outside the administrative boundary of Harlow district.

Significant additional housing will be provided:

- within the existing area of the town through selective renewal and redevelopment, including mixed use development in the town centre;

- through urban extensions to the east to make optimum use of land between the existing built up area and the M11 motorway;

- through smaller scale urban extensions to the south, south west and west; and

- development will provide for a full range of housing types, sizes, tenures and costs and support development of a skilled and more inclusive local labour force.

(3) The Green Belt will be reviewed to accommodate the new urban extensions. New

Green Belt boundaries will be drawn so as to maintain the purposes of the Green Belt, specifically to maintain the integrity of the principles of the Gibberd Plan and landscape setting of Harlow and the physical and visual separation of the town from smaller settlements to the west.

(4) LDDs will provide for the creation and maintenance of a network of multi-function greenspaces within and around the town, taking forward the principles of the Green Infrastructure Plan for Harlow. This network should:

- maintain the principle of ?green wedges? penetrating the urban fabric of the town;

- provide for enhanced recreational facilities;

- protect and maintain designated wildlife sites and provide for urban biodiversity; and - contribute to a visually enhanced character and setting to the town.

(5) The town centre and employment areas will be developed to:

- enhance the role of Harlow as a key centre for higher education and research based institutions;

- provide for growth of Harlow?s established sectors and clusters;

- attract employment related to the growth of Stansted Airport which does not need to be located there; and

- assist the growth of small and medium sized enterprises and the attraction of new economic development and innovation.

(6) The transport priorities for Harlow are:

- achieving a major increase in the use of public transport, walking and cycling within

Harlow; new development at the eastern, southern and western edges of Harlow to be used to facilitate improvements for these modes through the town and to the town centre, employment areas and schools;

- resolving traffic congestion for movement within and across the town without encouraging an increase in car use, particularly in peak hours;

- Improvements in accessibility by public transport from Harlow to London, Stansted and

Cambridge, including priority for capacity and service improvements on the West

Anglia main line; and

- improved access from key employment sites to the strategic highway network, including consideration of an east-west bypass in the medium to longer term.

(7) The strategy for Harlow should be delivered through a partnership approach based on the Area Regeneration Partnership. Harlow DC and Epping Forest DC should prepare a joint LDD to establish the planning framework for new urban extensions and the Green Belt reviews. The aim will be to bring forward development simultaneously at various locations so as to facilitate a significant increase in housing delivery at an early stage.

Note: Policy H1 whole District allocations are:

Harlow 13,500

East Herts 12,000

Uttlesford 8,000

Braintree 7,700

The supporting text should refer to the possibility of seeking should the ARP not produce the looked for results.

It is clear, however, that a portion of the housing provision, probably about 3,000 dwellings, will be met outside the Harlow District boundary in Epping Forest District. Any portion of the Harlow figure provided in this way would be additional to the provision for Epping Forest District in our proposed changed Policy H1. Our proposed policy makes this clear.?

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8 May 2006
STOP Harlow North continues the fight

Since our last newsletter at the end of the Examination in Public STOP Harlow North has been very busy.

We have challenged the ODPM’s household forecasts. These figures suggested the East of England needs 100,000 more homes than in the existing Plan - but we discovered that East Herts has actually been allocated 10,000 more homes in the Plan than these forecast; what a muddle - the homes may actually be needed somewhere else. We can now put to bed the argument that this number of homes is needed for our children. They are not.

We have also followed up on water and sewage treatment. We have learnt that the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) ignored clear warnings from Thames Water about the serious problems with sewage treatment around Harlow. EERA allocated massive housing growth to Harlow in the draft East of England Plan despite these explicit warnings; first given in 2003. EERA have been unable to supply any papers to show sewage was even considered in drawing up the Plan.

You can follow the detail of these stories on our website.

http://www.stopharlownorth.com/press_releases.htm

The results of the EiP are due in mid June and we will keep you informed.

As summer is approaching you may want to visit the Hunsdon Meads. The Mead is one of the finest surviving grassland sites in Hertfordshire but it may be threatened by the proposals for Harlow North. For over 600 years the Mead has been managed on the ancient Lammas system under which local farmers graze their cattle in late summer after a July hay cut. The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust have organised two tours to see the flowers and wildlife on May 13th and May 21st.

For more information see: http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/herts/events/diaryapr-jun06.html

We are busily preparing for the next stages of our campaign which may involve fighting a planning application by Ropemaker Properties. For that we need your help. Firstly we need you to affirm your support for our campaign and secondly need you to join our growing team of volunteers. Some of you may already have received information by post, if we don’t have your postal details you can enter them on our website.

http://www.stopharlownorth.com/join_us.htm

We need more people to help with: •

Delivering leaflets. •

Writing to the press. •

Writing to local politicians. •

Organising or helping at fund-raising events.

We can also use people with specialist skills or knowledge in areas such as campaigning, marketing, planning and the environment. And we are always open to new suggestions. Please contact us.

John Prescott may have given up his responsibilities but his plans remains and the fight goes on. Please join us in the fight and forward this e-mail to all your friends.

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

www.stopharlownorth.com

Unnecessary, Unsustainable, Undemocratic

If you can spare a few minutes perhaps you could also help with one or more of the following

A. Mark Prisk, MP has been a staunch supporter of our campaign and he wants hear from you all. He has a special STOP Harlow North survey on his web site. Please take 2 minutes to register you views here STOP Harlow North survey

B. CPRE’s work to improve the draft East of England Plan continues this week, with some joint work with the National Trust. Would you lend this campaign your support as well? If you agree that development plans should respect environmental limits, please take a just a minute to signing the petition

More locally CPRE are looking for a local coordinator in Harlow. If you are interest please let us know.

C. Stop Stansted Expansion has also asked us to draw our supporters’ attention to their guidance on responding to the planning application for increased use of one runway.

http://www.stopstanstedexpansion.com/documents/SSE_R1_Application_Flier.doc

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23 February 2006
STOP Harlow North delivers “unsustainable“ message to the Examination in Public

We would like to thank all of you who came to support our campaign at the Examination in Public on Feb. 14th and 15th. It was a great boost to the team as were all the messages of encouragement from those unable to be with us on the day. The level of public participation really made a difference. The Panel reversed the order of proceeding so that the specific arguments for and against growth at Harlow could be heard on the first day.

We launched out “Don’t tear the heart out of our community” campaign with Mark Prisk, MP on 14th and we were featured on Anglia News.

You can read about it all on our web site: Press release. Valentine's Day message to the Prime Minister

Those who braved both days of the hearings were rewarded at 6pm on the second day. After the Environment Agency and Thames water had spoken the Chairman concluded by saying, and I paraphrase, there appears to be little water, no sewage capacity and no funding to even starting looking for solutions until after 2010. The reaction in the room was stunned incredulity. It seems EERA did not take the warnings about water in the Sustainability Assessment of the Plan seriously and Ropemakers plans for Harlow North appear to be up the creek without a paddle.

You can read our press release here: Press release. Water and Sewage

The campaign goes on. We will lobby those with influence to remove Harlow North from any plans, demonstrate how unsustainable the proposals are and hold Ropemakers and others to account.

All of this work requires funding so if you would like to make a contribution please send your cheque to STOP Harlow North, C/O Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT.

Thanks you again for your support

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

Please visit www.stopharlownorth.com

Unnecessary, Unsustainable and Undemocratic

Here are some links to press coverage of our demonstration although these may not be available indefinitely

Mercury: mercury valentines passion over prescottshire

Harlow STAR: star protestors brand housing unsound

and Observer: observer protesters get to the hear of the matter

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30 December 2005
Thanks for your support and Happy New Year from STOP Harlow North

Firstly I would like to thank you all for your support for our campaign during 2005

STOP Harlow North achieved some significant milestones in 2005 but there is still much to in 2006.

In 2005 we: •

Achieved a massive response to the public consultation on the draft East of England Plan through a huge direct mailing and advertising campaign. •

Secured an invitation to four separate sessions of the Examination in Public (EiP). (Two in 2005, two in 2006) •

Submitted a detailed 100 page submission to the public consultation on the Plan ourselves; commenting on every policy and made further written submissions on the Matters to be addressed at the (EiP) •

Addressed Herts County Council Environmental Committee •

Organised the Meet in the Middle rally in July which was attended by Mark Prisk, MP, and many local county and district councilors •

Secured release of technical papers from EERA under environmental legislation with help of Friends of the Earth •

Used the Freedom of Information Act to secure the release of many papers held by local authorities and Government Agencies; including notes of meetings with Ropemakers Properties. •

Challenged Harlow Council over their local consultation on the Plan; showing that less than half those asked supported building 10,000 house to the north of the town. •

Attended the Regional Assembly Meeting in December and publicly questioned the chair over the supposed sustainability of building north of Harlow. •

Presented our case on BBC, ITV and Sky news programmes •

Contributed our views to the Hertfordshire Local Transport Plan •

Contributed our views to Highways Agency consultation on M11 •

Contributed our views to the Harlow 2020 partnership and secured a meeting with Bill Rammell, MP for Harlow. (re-elected with a majority of less than 100) •

Submitted evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons. •

Posed tens of question to Ropemakers Properties via the Q&A facility on their website •

Had over 8,000 hits on our website.Generated prolonged local press coverage of the campaign.

and much much more.................In 2006 we need to: •

Attend the two remaining EiP sessions on Affordable housing and Stansted/M11 corridor; your support will be most welcome in Letchworth on Feb. 14th and 15th. Please mark this in your diary. More details will be available nearer the time •

Ensure we and all our supporters respond to public consultation on any suggested changes to the Plan as proposed by the Panel (this may be at end 2006 or early 2007) •

Work closely with local authorities to ensure we are informed and consulted at all relevant times •

Respond to any and all further public consultation opportunities •

Engage with the media at local and national level to highlight the threat to our communities. •

Lobby at national level to influence the ODPM's decision on the final Plan.

All of this work requires funding so if you would like to make a contribution please send your cheque to STOP Harlow North, C/O Yewtree House, High Street, Hunsdon, Herts, SG12 8NT.

Thanks you again for your support and may I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year

Nigel Clark
Secretary STOP Harlow North

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23 November 2005
STOP Harlow North appears at Examination in Public

Dear All,

Our campaign has been running for over a year now and I would like to thank you all for your support during this time.

We achieved a major milestone last week taking our first seat at the Examination in Public on the draft East of England Plan. Details are in the press release below.

We are now working hard towards the key Harlow specific session which will be held in the Spirella Building in Letchworth on 14-15th February. We would really welcome public support on this day so please mark it in your calendar; even if you can come for just an hour or so.

As with every campaign we have ongoing expenses and we rely on personal donations. Please send any contributions to: STOP Harlow North c/o Yew Tree House, High Street, Hunsdon.

Thank you again for your support

Regards

Nigel Clark
Secretary, STOP Harlow North

Please visit www.stopharlownorth.com

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10 August 2005
STOP Harlow North asks you to send the Government a message about Green Belt

Dear All,

Part of the land north of Harlow is in the Green Belt. Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Green Belt. The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is running a campaign to tell the Government why we want Green Belts to remain green, open and undeveloped. It would help our campaign if you could log on to their site and send a message. If you can mention the Green Belt north of Harlow that would be even better.

http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/planning/greenbelts/

(Then click on "What can you do" and then choose online form)

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30 May 2005
July 3rd STOP Harlow North- step forward

Are you wondering what you can do to help the STOP Harlow North campaign?

Come and join the STOP Harlow North rally on Sunday July 3rd.

Please join our rally to protest against Ropemaker’s damaging proposals for 25,000 houses north of Harlow. This development could engulf our villages, destroy our quality of life and threaten the regeneration of Harlow. Come and enjoy the beautiful countryside that is under threat from developers.

We would like you and your friends and family to join us in walking from your village to “Meet in the Middle” at Eastwick at around 1pm on July 3rd. Please use the public footpaths and enjoy the fresh air.

People will be walking from Sawbridgeworth, High Wych, Gilston, Much Hadham, Widford, Hunsdon and Harlow; all are welcome. Please step forward and be counted.

If you can raise money for the campaign by personal sponsorship we would be happy to accept these donations.

We will be holding a BBQ and picnic at the end of the walks in the centre of Eastwick village opposite the Lion pub. Feel free to bring your own food or buy from our BBQ.

Mark Prisk, MP, will address the rally in Eastwick in the early afternoon.

For further information contact

Eastwick & Gilston mark.orson@stopharlownorth.com

High Wych janet.vandebilt@stopharlownorth.com

Hunsdon mike.newman@stopharlownorth.com

Much Hadham ralph.camp@stopharlownorth.com

Sawbridgeworth roger.beeching@stopharlownorth.com

Widford ian.brett@stopharlownorth.com

admin@stopharlownorth.com or see your village notice board

If you can help on the day with the BBQ, stewarding or leading a walk please let us know.

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13 April 2005
Thanks from STOP Harlow North

Thank you for sending your observations on the East of England Plan. EERA received over 26,000 responses.

What happens now? Why did your responses matter?

Later this year an independent panel will conduct an Examination in Public (EiP) "to test the soundness of the draft East of England Plan". STOP Harlow North believes the Plan is fundamentally unsound in many respects, but particularly in regard to its proposals for development north of Harlow. Our next goal is to convince the panel of that - and your responses are important for two reasons: 1. The responses will be sent to the EiP to help decide the issues to be debated and the people and organisations to be invited to appear. With the size of your response we believe the EiP must put Harlow North high on its agenda and must invite STOP Harlow North to present its case

2. A report will be presented to EERA's Regional Planning Panel on 22 June on the results of public consultation and, in particular, highlighting any areas where, in the light of any new information revealed by the consultation (such as, in our view, the strength of opposition against the Harlow North proposals) changes to the Plan might be needed. EERA cannot change the Plan before the EiP but it can agree ‘lines to take’ such that, where a need for change is identified, its officers can be authorised to recommend it to the Panel at an appropriate point during the EiP.

So the next big step is the EiP. Is anything going to happen in the meantime? Yes. We all need to keep telling the world about Harlow North - that the proposals are unnecessary, unsustainable and undemocratic, and contrived only for profit and political advantage.

As part of the continuing campaign, STOP Harlow North will be organising a series of events to maintain momentum and generate publicity

BUT WE NEED YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT IN SEVERAL WAYS:

Do you have any ideas for events that will help publicise our cause and/or bring more people in to support us? Please send us your ideas.

The campaign to encourage responses to the EoEP was very expensive and we need to top-up our funds for the battle ahead. Please send contributions to: STOP Harlow North c/o Yew Tree House, High Street, Hunsdon

Thank you again for your support

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6 March 2005
10 day to end of public consultation. Have you told ERRA what you think about the East of England Plan?

All,

Thank you all for your support for our campaign during the public consultation on the East of England Plan.

I know many of you have written, e-mailed or faxed EERA with your objections over the last few weeks.

For those of you struggling to find the right words don’t forget we have a two page ‘reasons’ fact sheet on our website here: http://www.stopharlownorth.com/arguments.htm

If you have simply run out of time you can use our 30 second response form here: http://www.stopharlownorth.com/response_form.htm

Simply tick the boxes, fill in your name and address and submit.

You could also use one of our flyers which have a cut-out coupon on the back.

Please do make a response. Deadline line is only 10 days away.

Watch out this week for our poster van touring the streets of Harlow, Sawbridgeworth, Hertford, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford and all points in between. Please give them a wave.

SAY NO NOW. STOP HARLOW NORTH - WRITE NOW

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7 February 2005 STOP HARLOW NORTH -WRITE NOW Newsletter

All,

Thanks to all supporters who were at County Hall Hertford last Monday for the EERA Roadshow on The East of England Plan. The event was well reported in the press and the momentum behind our campaign is growing day by day; we have now had thousands of hits on our website. I urge you all to respond personally to the public consultation; the number of responses does count. Send a response from each member of your family separately. Don’t leave it to us to speak up for you. The deadline is March 16th. Please send your letters to:

East of England Plan Public Consultation,

Panel Secretary,

c/o East of England Assembly,

Flempton House,

Flempton,

Bury St Edmunds

Suffolk

IP 28 6EG

Or electronically at: planning@eera.gov.uk

Our arguments are here: http://www.stopharlownorth.com/arguments.htm

Thanks also to all of you who have already copied me on your responses to the public consultation; the ideas you have generated will add to our official campaign response.

Stop Harlow North will be taking an active part in Hertfordshire County Council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee at County Hall on Feb 9th. Tom Heap, BBC Rural Affairs Correspondent, and Tony Travers, Director of the Greater London Group at the London School of Economics, well-known experts in their fields, will play major roles at the meeting so it should attract a great deal of media attention.

If you want to find out more please attend one of the local meetings arranged by East Herts Council

STOP HARLOW NORTH – WRITE NOW

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30 January 2005
STOP HARLOW NORTH Consultation update

All,

On Monday 31st Jan STOP Harlow North supporters will be outside County Hall Hertford from 9.30-10.30am before the morning session of the EERA Roadshow on The East of England Plan. Please come and join the demonstration.

Inside we will be posing some questions of Alan Moore, Head of Planning and Transport at EERA. At the Harlow 2020 conference last week he told the audience that, where the Plan specifically states “at least 10,000” dwellings north of Harlow, we had misinterpreted the meaning. The Plan was meant to imply “no more than 10,000”. Mr Moore encouraged everybody to respond to the plan and give their comments on these numbers.

STOP Harlow North know exactly what “at least 10,000” dwellings north of Harlow means. It means opening the floodgates to the 25,000 dwellings proposed by Ropemaker Properties! We have seen notes from meetings between Go-East and Ropemakers Properties that appear to suggest the next limit to development would be the A120.

However, the Mercury interview with Alan Moore has given us sign for great optimism. In it he said “EERA got it wrong first time around” and “a huge outcry followed from those affected by it”. We would contend they have got it wrong the second time as well and the outcry will be even bigger; but only if you and all your friends respond to the public consultation.

Cllr Spenceley, joint leader of Harlow council’s statement that there is “not the massive opposition to the plans that the letters columns of the local press would have us believe” has, based on my inbox, resulted in a torrent of correspondence. Her standard response is that nobody has proposed an alternative to regenerate Harlow. In an attempt to help, STOP Harlow North asked for copies of all the regeneration studies and briefing documents from Harlow Council six weeks ago. We still await a response.

Harlow Star published our rebuttal to Bill Rammell’s, (Harlow MP) assertion that East Herts was not pulling its weight in house building and is attached below for your interest. Essentially East Herts is being asked to build 1,040 dwellings per year in the proposed Plan. This is more than Harlow’s and Epping Forest’s allocations of 400 and 550 combined. Hertfordshire is already the most densely populated county in the region.

Mark Prisk, MP has come out strongly in support our campaign. His Westminster newsletter features us on the front and back pages. He has challenged the objectivity of The Prince’s Foundation which has been engaged as paid consultants by the BP Pension Fund. As a Chartered Surveyor, Mr Prisk believes that development north of Harlow would undermine any regeneration.

More politicians are beginning to see the folly of Mr Prescott’s plans. The Environmental Audit Committee of MPs has issued a report that says "Irreversible environmental damage" will be caused by government plans to build more than one million homes in south-east England. "Sustainable communities" were being promoted without a real understanding of what "sustainable" means. The report can be found via the BBC website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4219557.stm

Local politicians, recognising how this undemocratic process has bulldozed through unnecessary and unsustainable housing proposals, are beginning to fight back. After Epping Forest’s vote to support the abolition of EERA, East Herts Council followed suit this week.

East Herts’ “Speak up for East Herts” campaign is driving home what the impact of these homes would be on your quality of life http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/speakup/index.htm . Hertfordshire County are stepping up the pressure at http://www.speakuphertfordshire.org.uk

Harlow Council’s contribution to the public consultation can be found here. http://www.harlow.gov.uk/eastofenglandplan/index.html

Unfortunately it contains no reference to EERA's suspension of its endorsement of the Plan; something pointed out to Harlow Council on 3rd Jan 2005.

I understand that Essex County Council is asking people to complete questionnaires and send them into the Council. Please don’t think you have responded to the public consultation by doing so. For your views to be properly taken into account, you must write to EERA and formally respond to the East of England Plan at http://eera.web-labs.co.uk/eerapublicconsultation/

On to more mundane administrative matters, we have had reports that some people are being asked to pay for their copy of the East of England Plan. The Plan is free to members of the public. Payment is only requested where callers identify themselves as representing a profit-making organisation or ask for a large number of copies. We would like to hear from anyone who is asked for payment. Please send us the time and date of your call and to whom you spoke.

If you need to find out more about the Plan don’t miss East Herts Community Voice, 7.30pm, Charis Centre, Bishop’s Stortford this Monday Jan 31st. Open village meetings will be held in High Wych on 2nd Feb and Eastwick and Gilston on 14th Feb.(8pm)

All contributions to the fighting fund are, as always, gratefully received.

Please respond to the public consultation and forward this e-mail to all your friends.

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15 January 2005.

STOP HARLOW NORTH NEWLETTER

I hope you have recharged your batteries over the holidays and are ready to help generate a massive response to the public consultation on the East of England Plan. Attached below this e-mail is a list of ideas on how to respond and object to the proposal in the Plan to build 10,000 houses on the green fields north of Harlow. Please send this on to all your friends.

STOP Harlow North (SHN) campaign group is conducting an in depth analysis of the East of England Plan and the studies that were meant to have informed it. We have a team of professionals with years of experience working on producing our comprehensive response to the consultation. The Plan has fundamental flaws that must be highlighted. However nothing can replace your individual responses to the public consultation; your passion and the number of responses will count.

This passion was demonstrated on Monday Jan 10th when Hunsdon Village Hall was packed to the rafters for a special village meeting on the East of England Plan. Cllr Bud Carthy, Chair Hunsdon parish council, invited Alan Moore, Head of Planning and Transport at EERA, to describe the Plan to the meeting. Unfortunately Mr Moore had to be reminded at the end of his talk to tell the meeting that the Regional Assembly had withdrawn its endorsement of the Plan. Kevin Fitzgerald from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), while agreeing the Plan contained many fine principles then asked in his address why none of them had been applied to the proposals for Hertfordshire and how fifty years of Green Belt policy could be destroyed overnight. Cllr Mike Carver, Leader East Herts Council supported by Cllr Deborah Clark, East Herts Council Executive member for Regional and Economic Development then made a heartfelt plea for everybody to respond to the public consultation. The Cllrs highlighted the infrastructure issues challenging East Herts and that it was everybody’s individual duty to speak up. Cllr Mike Newman SHN rep from Hunsdon parish council addressed the meeting explaining the specific issues around the Ropemaker’s site and the 10,000 homes proposed north of Harlow.

The energetic Q&A session that followed demonstrated the strong opposition to the Plan and the proposal for development north of Harlow across the Green Belt. Most of the questions were directed to Alan Moore from EERA. David Scott, Widford, asked if Ropemakers might be able to sue if they did not receive planning permission as the plan appeared to be site specific. David Gibb, Hunsdon, asked whether the lack of infrastructure to treat sewage would be a problem. Many people were incensed that planning powers had been transferred from the county and district to the unelected Regional Assembly which they thought to have been unduly influenced by central government.

SHN raised nearly £300 in an impromptu collection at the end of the meeting.

The contrast to the EERA arranged meeting in Harlow on 6th Jan could not have been starker. SHN conducted a peaceful protest inside the Civic Centre; having been refused permission by the owner of the Water Gardens to demonstrate outside – it’s private property! Our demonstration was well manned but there was very poor turnout for this public meeting. Mark Prisk, MP challenged the chair over the timing and day of the meeting, together with the requirement to apply for an invitation. It was clear from the officers who spoke that both Essex and Hertfordshire County Council have grave reservations over the Plan, especially the job growth on which the housing numbers are based. Not a single member of the audience spoke in favour of building north of Harlow although all agreed Harlow needs some regeneration investment within its boundaries. Stan Newans and Jim Rogers, amongst others, challenged the notion that regeneration equates to growth and whether the Plan was right for Harlow. The Civic Society contributors obviously had serious reservations. Cllr Lorna Spenceley, joint leader of Harlow Council, made a plea for an alternative proposal for regeneration. Alan Moore conceded that EERA had ‘changed its mind’ on building north of Harlow but could not justify this change with planning study data.

Don’t leave it to others; please respond to the public consultation before March 16th. See below for ideas on what to write. Please tell your friends how important it is and forward this e-mail.

The address for submissions is:

East of England Plan, Public Consultation Panel Secretary, C/O East of England Assembly, Flempton House, Flempton, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP 28 6EG

Although EERA would prefer you respond on line.

If you want to know more there is a public meeting in Much Hadham on 19th Jan and Sawbridgeworth Community Voice is on 20th Jan- both are evening events.

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11 December 2004 Public consultation on East of England Plan goes on despite EERA vote

EERA voted on Friday Dec 10th to suspend its endorsement of the East of England Plan. However the public consultation goes on and is just as important as ever; if not more so.

What does it mean?

EERA’s endorsement on Nov 5th was conditional upon adequate government provision of the necessary infrastructure. Its endorsement is "suspended pending a re-examination of the government’s willingness to support its own aspirations in financial terms".

What are the implications for public consultation?

It continues but every copy of the Plan will come with a covering note to the above effect

What is the bad news?

People may think they do not have to respond to the consultation

What do we need to do?

Redouble our efforts to get people to respond to the public consultation