WAG Public Meeting 1 - 22 March 2007
 

Public Meeting 22 March 2007

The Public Meeting was very well attended, and we would like to thank all those who turned up (over 200), and apologies to those who could not get into the room. Particular thanks to the councillors for attending and for their contribution. We were taken by surprise by the number of people who attended, and will ensure we have ample space next time. 
What the papers said

Main points

  • Over 200 people were present at the meeting, with many unable to get into the room

  • Residents expressed many concerns about the Master Plan and all of the other developments in the pipeline

  • The councillors seemed surprised by the strength of feeling, which was overwhelmingly against the Master Plan as it stands

  • The new total for housing units in the Master Plan has gone up again, this time it is about 650. At the last public meeting at Barn Hall on 10th January 2007 Councillor Ball said it was about 600

  • The councillors agreed to consult again with the residents on the Master Plan, and to liaise with the Wickford Action Group on this.

  • They also agreed to inform the Group about the S106 agreement when it is finalised. 

 

All Wickford councillors were invited, and grateful thanks to those who came:
  • Malcolm Buckley, Leader of the Council
  • Tony Ball, Deputy Leader, Responsible for Housing & Community Safety
  • Chris Jackman,
  • Steve Horgan, (Billericay), Responsible for Development & Regeneration
Councillors N. Smith and G. Williams were unable to attend and sent their apologies, as did county councillor Iris Pummell. No replies from councillors M. Mowe, S. Buckley and D. Morris. Councillor Carole Morris sent her reasons and her email was read out at the meeting.

There were 5 short presentations by members of the Wickford Action Group, and then the meeting was thrown open for comment.

The presentations were:
  • The Master Plan – Alan Ball
    - Master Plan not consulted properly to public and doesn't have our approval
    - Number of dwellings constantly changing, from 500 originally to 650 today
    - Other piecemeal developments creeping in, which are NOT in the Master Plan 
  • Traffic Aspects – Eric Lamb
    - Wickford can't handle any more traffic
    - No ‘transport plan’ for the future
  • Other developments – Shiela Aslett
    - What will ‘regeneration’ do for present residents?
    - Where are the school places etc
    - Contact your councillors – make them aware!
  • Derek Harrison – S106 agreements
    - ensures developers make a contribution to infrastructure
    - but Basildon Council don’t have such a policy (Cllr S Horgen said “we do, although it isn’t published yet”)
  • Derek Paffett – Infrastructure / Flood risk
    - extreme conditions could lead to flood risk, so promotional pictures of 'the riverside' (i.e. the flood channel) are misleading
    - The Medical Centre was an opportunity for more doctors, but turned down by the council

Other points raised were:
  • Councillor Malcolm Buckley confirmed that he takes the future of Wickford personally and want to see it prosper. He said the deterioration in retail offering is because retailers don’t want to come, and improving the buildings and increasing population will address this. Also that housing numbers are imposed by government, and council aim to build these in existing built areas rather than green belt.

  • Problems with obsolete power and pumping stations e.g. around Jubilee Drive – needs a thorough overhaul

  • Southend Road is already subject to traffic problems, especially if there is an incident, and the proposed new developments by Martin Grant and others will only make it worse. Why are they allowed to do this without improving the roads?

  • The Wickford Town / Shotgate Farm plans, whilst offering needed sports facilities, the 50 homes would impose demands on already stretched infrastructure. But the biggest worry is that once the pavilions are built, (which is allowed on green belt), the remaining land between that and Alicia way would be under threat of in-fill, and the green belt would be lost!

  • Someone had asked the council planning office who was the project manager for the Wickford Master Plan, and they didn’t know (laughter)
    (From Cllr Buckley “We are looking to appoint a project manager”) 

  • We don’t want more restaurants, we want somewhere we can buy a pot of paint.
    The ‘Master Plan’ is a load of rubbish, it doesn’t take into account what the people of Wickford want. What we should do now is look carefully at what the councillors say on their voting leaflets, and get someone in who asks us what WE want.

  • On the few occasions when the public have been invited to view plans and make comments, the questions are loaded and often a ‘Yes / No’ response isn’t adequate. 

  • The councillors said we don’t attract the shops because there aren’t enough people, but surely we don’t want to get more people just to get the shops?
    Also, the sewerage and power outage problems (eg in Jubilee Drive) seem to be because we have ‘rural’ connection infrastructure. What the councillors should be telling the planners is to get this upgraded to fit the purpose (applause)

  • 650 new dwellings could mean 2000 people, an increase of 7%, so we need to put in the infrastructure first.

  • The council is looking to appoint a Strategic Development Partner to manage the Master Plan, but surely it is too late because the Riverside Place development is already designed and started, and at 173 flats this is 25% of the total!
    (From Cllr Buckley “Reason to select a partner is so that the unprofitable parts such as swimming pools etc would be included”)

  • (From Cllr Hargen) I would like to say that the talk on S106 was correct, and to add that the good news is that we are changing the S106 policy (comment “you can’t change it if you don’t have one”). (comment “could you send us details of the new S106” reply "Well it isn’t ready yet!" )

  • I understand that the Broadway and Lower Southend Rd will be block paved as the High Street. Will the underpass be renewed?
    (Cllr Buckley “no block paving for the underpass, but it will be refurbished, not renewed)

  • Will the Community Centre be replaced?
    (Cllr Buckley “Yes, at least the same size, but not sure where yet – possibly opposite where it is now”. Also a new library and a brand new purpose build health centre)

  • (Cllr Horgan) The purpose of the Master Plan is to get a strategic partner so that ad-hoc developments don’t get built and we get the infrastructure.
    (Comment from Derek H “But Steve, to the people of Wickford that’s exactly what’s happening now!”)

  • Cllr Horgan says a Master Plan would stop piecemeal development. But I have here ‘The Wickford Town Centre Plan’ dated 1977, that hasn’t prevented piecemeal development – you ignored it then and you are ignoring it now. (red face on Cllr Horgan) 

  • Bearing in mind that the council has housing targets, wouldn’t it be better to build these on existing sites, i.e. the town centre, rather that open spaces. 
    (The worry is that we will get both!)

  • 10,700 housing target for Basildon by 2021. Cllr Horgan was asked for a split of how this affects Wickford. He stated that the Conservative policy is not to have government imposing these targets.

  • Cllr Horgon stated that one thing that has come from this meeting is that the councillors need to do more public consultation about the Master Plan (loud applause and cheers)

  • Does the council actually own the land on which the library is to be built? Cllr Horgan says no, but in cases like this there could be compulsory purchase, although this is never used for homes. One resident who lives in Cranfield Court, off Market Avenue, disputed this as it is just about to happen to her. She was invited to pass her name across to the Cllr Ball. The Wickford Action Group would be interested to know what the Council's plans are for this block.

  • Where will the sorting office be relocated to? Cllr Buckley says not decided yet, although he would expect there to be a local collection point.

If anyone has other points which were missed, or would like to add anything else, please email us, or add your own comment in the 'Have Your Say' section at the top
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