There are various rumours in circulation fueled by local media streams that contractors are being appointed in connection with the proposed Otterpool Park New Town. Details of any appointments are detailed below in the Lympne Parish Council News.
Here at S&DRA, we are firm believers in the elected few representing the views of the Parishioners or the electorate. Whilst the majority of our so called representatives have their own agendas, disenfranchising local residents, we are heartened to see Lympne Parish Council acting as servants of the Lympne Parishioners and informing of their actions. - Well done Lympne PC.
We also know the Monks Horton Parish Meeting have been approached by Susan Priest in her quest to get them 'on board' to support the New Town bid. We are happy to tell you that the Monks Horton Chairman, after consultation, refused to entertain Ms Priest and her entourage, stating that MHPM are firmly opposed to the Otterpool Park New Town development.- Well done Monks Horton.
From the Lympne Parish Council News:
The potential extent of Shepway District Council's proposed Garden Town will engulf our village and our neighbour's.
SHEPWAY DISTRICT COUNCIL are pursuing their plans for a town of up to 12000 new houses centred around Otterpool lane and the A20.From the views received to date, the opinion of the vast majority of the people of the Parish of Lympne are against the proposals and,as your Councillors,we will always aim to represent you and your opinions in any dealings with SDC. It is therefore really important that you communicate your views to us and let us know if you are for or against the plan; it is vital that we know what you are thinking; email the Parish Council at lympnepc@outlook.com.
A meeting was arranged for the 5th October by Susan Priest, who is a Corporate Director at SDC, to discuss communications between us in relation to this proposal. On the day, and to our surprise, three other key members of their development team, Chris Lewis Jenny Hollingsbee and Julia Wallace accompanied her. Your LPC Chairman introduced us and stated that following a recent petition the overwhelming majority of villagers were against the plan and that was the position that we would uphold. There then followed a presentation by Shepway District Council during which they advised us that the scheme was currently at a very early stage and that the investigations so far comprised of commissioning various companies to carry out surveys on roads and infrastructure.
They are also sending large groups of council representatives all over the country visiting new large developments to gather information.These investigations and surveys by SDC will result in a consultation by them later during the autumn when hopefully the conclusions of the exercises will be released.
It should be noted that to date Lympne Parish Council have not entered into any consultation with SDC but merely listened to their reports.We will update you with any news or information that we have each month in this newsletter.
To confirm; at a Parish Councillors Meeting on 7th June this year, 27 Parish Councillors met with Councillor Monk and his team, including Susan Priest at the Civic Centre, Folkestone, where a vote was taken to show support for the proposed Otterpool Park development. A show of hands was requested; Not one hand was raised from those 27 Parish Councillors.
Our message to Parishioners across East Kent is to lobby your Parish Council/Meeting and ask if they have garnered opinion from their residents and offered a Position Statement. Moreover, you are at liberty to ask for the detail or minutes taken at any meeting between your Parish Council/Meeting and representatives of Shepway District Council.
One of the criteria of taking this New Town development forward is that it has the support of local residents. To date, we have yet to see any evidence of majority support to urbanise this rural area, irrespective of what Councillors Carey and Hollingsbee tell us.
Lastly, many thanks to all our residents who continually contact and support us with useful information to post on our website.
S&DRA.
