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Residents are fighting against
flats
Echo
29 September 2008, Letters page, from Steve Rawlinson
[Editor's note -
this letter is about developments in Thorpe Bay, but we have included it here as
it is also relevant to Wickford. Thorpe Bay have successfully halted the
destruction of their town by preventing the Tory led council from building
'monster flats', by having 'Independent councillors fighting tooth and
nail'. We in the Wickford Action Group are trying to do the same.]
J A
Hargreaves (Sept 22) deplored the monster flats being built on the seafront at
Westcliff and expressed scepticism about Southend council's care for the
community.
The writer
suggested these flats would not have been allowed to be built in Thorpe Bay.
Applications for
flats are constantly being submitted in Thorpe Bay. The reason Thorpe Bay has
not so far been swamped with inappropriate flatted development is because in
this area we have a very large (over 900 households) and well-organised
residents association.
This association has planning and building experts available for
advice and is highly motivated to preserve the character and integrity of the
area.
Thousands of
residents in Thorpe have successfully objected to various development proposals
and these objections were based on proper planning principles.
Also, it appears
that people living in Thorpe Bay have perceived much of the redevelopment threat
comes directly from the Tory-led council. This has resulted in the loss of three
“safe” Tory council seats to Independent councillors over the past 18
months.
Our Independent
councillors are fighting tooth and nail to prevent the appalling overdevelopment
that is occurring in the rest of the borough from coming to Thorpe Bay.
It is quite obvious that Conservative councillors throughout the rest of the
town take the opposite view about these developments.
Steve
Rawlinson
Walton Road
Thorpe Bay
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