Press Release: October 19TH 2018
A Tactical Retreat by Eden District Council or Victory for Keep Penrith Special (KPS)?
With the announcement this week by the Lowther Estates and Eden District Council that the Beacon development part (only) of the Masterplan has been withdrawn and as predicted by KPS. We are about to enter the most dangerous phase of our campaign against the woeful Masterplan.
It must be made absolutely clear the Masterplan is still happening, the consultation is still taking place, and people only have until Friday 2nd November to voice and action their concerns by signing the KPS campaign petition and returning the pre-paid postcard that every household in the CA10 & CA11 postcodes will receive from Monday 22nd October onwards.
It seems the people of Eden may have won. But we at KPS don’t think the campaign is won. We have read the small print.
Our demand: No building on the Beacon
Their concession: No building on the Beacon as part of the Masterplan and access as today to limited parts of the Beacon.
The reality: There could be building on the Beacon in the future. Financially it is probably better for Lowther not to be part of the Masterplan. Access would have to be given anyway as today as it is well established and customary to walk there on certain limited parts.
Our demand: No to Masterplan
Their concession: EDC have announced they won’t put in the planned application for Garden Village money in the round closing on 9th November. They have also announced two other things; that the Council will get an external organisation to review the findings of their woeful and unlawful consultation and that the Scrutiny Board of the Council will look at the outcomes of the Consultation.
The reality:
• They haven’t scrapped the Masterplan.
• They haven’t scrapped the unlawful consultation, instead they have extended parts of it.
• They still say they can use the results of the biased survey monkey questionnaire which turns opponents of the Masterplan into supporters of EDC by trick questions.
• They have just delayed a Garden Village application for the Masterplan. They realised that all the hoo hah means it was now a political ‘hot potato’ and would therefore likely be turned down anyway.
• They think they have avoided a legal humiliation.
We agree that an external organisation should review the legality of the whole process. The difference is that we believe this should be for a Judge in a proper Judicial Review. We think that the Scrutiny Committee ought to scrutinise everything that has gone on as well from ‘soup to nuts’.
What do we fear?: The people of the District will think EDC have listened and think that the people have won the concessions everyone wanted and then go back to sleep. Then EDC will proceed to get through the back door what they couldn’t get through the front whilst everyone is asleep. They will say we consulted you and listened. When everyone wakes up it will be ‘New Squares Mark2 on speed’. They are still having meetings planned for next week about stuffing the Masterplan into the Local Plan. Now what does that tell you? That’s why we will take every action we need to take to preserve our rights.
What do they fear?: That the people of the District will see through their tactics, won’t go back to sleep and will make sure EDC can’t get through the back door what they couldn’t get through the front, probably by voting out all the Masters of the Masterplan and other sheep in the May Council elections.
We urge each and every resident of Eden to voice their concerns by the deadline date of Friday 2nd November. Why is this important? BIG Plans, need a BIG response.
Sign the Keep Penrith Special Petition & return the prepaid postcard. Links to the petition and video can be found at http://www.keeppenrithspecial.org. More than 2,200 people have signed the online petition and 100’s of wet signatures have been collected since the launch. Please sign and return the prepaid postcard that will be delivered to CA10 & CA11 postcards on Monday 22nd October.
We also urge all Eden residents to follow and like our Facebook page @keeppenrithspecial. This provides up to date news and will also keep you entertained.
ENDS
Keep Penrith Special launched an online petition on 10th September against EDC’s Penrith Masterplan. Links to the petition and video can be found at http://www.keeppenrithspecial.org. More than 2,200 people have signed the online petition and 100’s of wet signatures have been collected since the launch. Over 92% are from Eden District/Cumbria postcodes (CA10 & CA11), being overwhelmingly dominant. The population of Penrith is 15,500. More than 3,000 people have watched our video and seen the appalling wanton destruction that the Masterplan would inflict on the beautiful Eden Valley.
For further information please visit www.keeppenrithspecial.org or if you would like to speak to the Keep Penrith Special Group email mail@keeppenrithspecial.org
