Published by Michael Kilpatrick, 30 Royston Road, Whittlesford. Tel: 01223 833062
on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, c/o Timothy Stone, 4 Church Lane, Whittlesford.
The views expressed are those of the candidate and party, not of the service provider. Website hosted by Pipex

Political Links

Liberal Democrats S Cambs Lib Dems Stop Hanley Grange

Personal links

Harmony in Harlem Michael's Ellington jazz orchestra Unknown Ellington compositions never heard before! Eating a cobra Michael eats a snake in Indonesia! Snow daleks Photos of Michael's snow daleks

Hanley Grange

Hanley Grange is back! What is alarming is that many people in the Cambridge area had not heard of it before! It was expected that Northstowe would be designated this region's significant eco-town development but out of the blue that notorious label has now been assigned to 1200 acres of farmland between the A11, A505 and A1301. 8,000 homes would be built if the project goes ahead.

What is the objection? Why do I say notorious? Firstly, the government has arbitrarily ridden roughshod over local strategic planning. The project flies in the face of the established plan to develop to the north of Cambridge, namely Northstowe, bearing in mind also that Cambridge's southern fringe is already being developed. Secondly, the label eco-town has all the hallmarks of a glib marketing ploy dreamt up to fool people into believing that the new town is the best solution to our housing pressures. There is nothing better we could do than to build all new homes to a zero-carbon standard, but the town itself cannot achieve the goals set out. Hanley Grange will undoubtedly become another commuter dormitory for Cambridge and London. There will be few local jobs associated with the development and the transport infrastructure will not cope. The resulting congestion and increased long-distance commuting will make a mockery of any eco-benefits the town will be purported to have.

There is no doubt that South Cambridgeshire needs more housing. We can't be NIMBYs and say no to all development. I believe development has be achieved by allowing the controlled and sensitive expansion of the city of Cambridge and by the distribution of small-scale developments within existing settlements where possible. Dormitory towns are not a good solution. Please read the page on Planning and Development for more of my views.