10 July 2007
It's now over two and a half years since you cancelled a professional beneficial and viable regeneration study in favour of your own financially unsound, unpopular and environmentally damaging alternative. After numerous reports it has now been eerily quiet for so long. Can you please tell us when shop-keepers, residents and community groups, who are in limbo, can finally expect this project to actually happen?
Your question contains several false statements that are unhelpful and I will respond to these individually:
Regeneration schemes of any scale take a long time to bring to implementation - Common Road took years, the Heart of Slough is just about done.
I reject your claim that the current regeneration proposals are "financially unsound". A professional company provided the valuations. Whilst I accept that these may be over cautious in terms of land values, they are far better than being unrealistic.
I also reject your statement that the proposed Britwell & Northborough Regeneration scheme is "unpopular". The consultation showed over-whelming support for improving Britwell and Northborough. 94% strongly or tended to agree and only 6% tended or strongly disagreed. Where there wasn't public support for development the proposals were dropped.
You say that proposals are environmentally damaging. How? Only a small amount of Kennedy Park will be used; all new homes will meet today's higher standards on energy use and so on. The consultation even led to a decision to protect the Farnham Lane land and it will be designated Green Belt as part of the Local Development Framework process.
Since July when the Council committed to identify money to bridge the gap stated in the feasibility study, I agree that there has not been a lot to say; nonetheless a letter was sent out in August and again mid-December to 359 residents (those who responded to the consultation who asked to be kept informed) and 37 businesses.
Local people were told it would be at least 18 months to 2 years before anything would happen on the ground. This has slipped by about 6 months whilst the funding gap was been addressed.