Yes why bother? What happened at the KCC Planning Committee Meeting in March which approved the Countrystyle application to build a Recycling Plant at Otterpool Quarry? What happened? First of all, our Susan – Cllr Carey made an excellent speech. What a pity the rest of them ignored it. Two members fell asleep soon after it began – although it is true they woke up in time to vote. One member made a speech about visiting the Airport Café many years ago and ‘didn’t find it up to much’. Most of those who did speak concentrated on what a very good idea it was to have a huge waste materials processing plant in the middle of the Kent countryside especially because it is surrounded by famous tourist attractions. “Paint it Heritage Green, chuck in a few trees and no one will even notice it.” typifies the level of erudition. Seemingly, it is all part of a KCC Planning Committee’s scheme to industrialise this part of rural Kent. The members meekly followed instructions given by the planners in the most one sided presentation that I can ever remember. There was no debate. No balanced examination of the issues. No concern or support for the lone Upper Otterpool dwelling or the independent Airport Café - the small Davids against the Goliaths. Not a single mention of the
Petition just presented by Cllr Susan Carey demonstrating an incredible 96% of Sellindge villagers together with very high support from the other villages, rejecting the proposal. The implacable opposition of the Shepway District Council and Planning Authority, the Parish Councils, the CPRE, the small local organisations - in fact the opposition of almost the entire local population - was dismissed out of hand and without discussion or examination. No, instead of intelligent debate there was just a lot of old fogies sat around talking about paragraph 3 sub section ii . . . . For three years we have worked to show just why this proposal is the right activity but in the wrong place. We have published our objections and even made a film about them. We have checked that the objections provide the substance for proper planning reasons to reject the proposal. We have provided the Planning Officers with our views in good time, unlike their disgraceful 4 working day notice of their 82 page, error prone and dense report. Even the vital Conditions are only being published as this is being written.
The whole exercise seems to be a defeat for the democratic process. And as for Localism – forget it! This whole process has caused either immobilising cynicism or real anger and frustration in this village. Localism? The Big Society? God help us. So why bother? Almost all the members of the planning committee fell in behind Chief Planner, Sharon Thompson’s pre-written summing up, which like the edicts of Mozart’s Queen of the Night, was a fine example of extreme obscurantism. Tightly armoured with their mechanistic formulae, the planners condemned our cause. Apart from perhaps three members, not a single thought for the community who live here. What really disturbed me was the way they all regarded their reductionist versions of planning regulations as true reasoning, while anything to do with real human beings was regarded as unstable emotionalism - something unreliable and un-defendable. ‘Human beings cost KCC money so let’s leave them out of this’ is the ruling idea. Well our message for them is we are human beings and we are going to make sure they know it. This is why we bother. In fact we bother so much that we invite Paul Carter who sits on top of the KCC pile, drawing a substantial pay and allowance packet, (when did he last visit Sellindge?) together with Sharon Thompson who I doubt is under-paid, Cllr Christopher Smith, the grey-suited hatchet man of Maidstone, together with John Champney (less said about him the better) to address a meeting of Sellindge villagers. Yes, it seems a good idea to ‘Get Carter’! We need him.
Ronald Lello Chairman Sellindge and District Residents Association 01303 813 140 sellindgeresidents@Gmail.com
