This is the 42nd annual report of the Association.
The Association has again had a very busy year.
The Website
Its success is entirely due to the hard work put in by Mark
Dawson and his designer, Thirzah Brown, to whom The
Association and I owe a considerable debt of gratitude.
If you have not done so, please do read Mark’s article
on page 10. Please also continue to log on to site at
www.colnestour.org regularly to keep up with what is
going on. This is very important, as often notices are
posted on the site inviting members to write to the
relevant authorities on planning issues and usually there
is a critical deadline, for example, the public enquiries
into the further expansion of Stansted, and the East of
England Plan.
If any of you have any suggestions or ideas to improve
the web site please let Mark know.
The Expansion of Stansted Airport and Increasing Aircraft Noise
I am sure that we all are delighted that Uttlesford District
Council turned down the application by BAA to increase
the number of passengers and flights using the existing
runway. It was one battle won, but it is a long war and not
surprisingly BAA have appealed the decision. There will
be a public enquiry, to be held later this year. A notice
was placed on the website urging members to make their
own views known, and of course the Association
anticipates that it will have an opportunity to make its
own representations to the inspector and speak at the
enquiry. We shall continue to support, (and work closely
with) the “Stop Stansted Expansion” organisation.
The case against NATS brought by Tom Hill (a barrister
specialising in environmental law) supported by The
Dedham Vale Society has been officially “stayed”. NATS
are accused of failing to observe the flight paths jointly
suggested by themselves and the MOD. Consultations are
continuing. We understand that major changes are being
considered involving stacking areas and the routing of
flights. We anticipate being involved in the consultation
process during the year and will judge the proposals on
their merits when they are published. If they spread the
burden of the existing aircraft noise fairly over as wide an
area as possible, then something positive will have been
achieved.
Please watch the website for further information.
Planning Matters
The Association was very disappointed, to put it mildly,
by the decision of Babergh District Council to approve
the inspector’s recommendation for the development of
Carson’s Field, Great Cornard. The decision was made even more
outrageous by the fact that four councillors
who had spoken out against the development were barred
from voting having been deemed to have an “interest”,
and the vote was lost by (you have got it) four votes! It is
quite clear to anyone, who visits Sudbury on a regular
basis that already, services are under considerable strain,
and traffic congestion is getting worse. We must resist
any more development in Great Cornard.
The planning application for The Horkesley Park and
Heritage and Conservation Centre at Bunting’s Farm,
Great Horkesley, to which the Association and other
organisations had strong objections, was withdrawn.
However the situation needs monitoring because it would
seem likely that a fresh application will be made
sometime in the future.
Following the public comments and representations last
year to the Original Draft Plan for The East of England,
the inspectors published their report (EiP) in June. They
have recommended some modifications, which Ruth
Kelly’s department is considering at the moment before
reissuing a Revised Draft Plan in due course. In some
ways we are fortunate because both in the Original Plan
and the EiP, our immediate area has got off lightly
compared with others. Whilst the panel seem to have
taken on board a number of the environmental issues
including the problem of a possible water shortage, they
have increased the new housing targets by 27,500 to a
total of 275,000 throughout the whole region. We still
feel that this is far too many, and there seems to be no
detail as to how the badly needed infrastructure and
support services will be financed. The increase in road
traffic alone, and the knock on effect will have a serious
and damaging effect on the environment. It will lead to
more pollution. More heavy vehicles on roads, not
designed for them, will only increase the renewed
demands for more by-passes, such as for Sudbury and
Halstead. The Association will fight to preserve the areas
of Green Belt and the general planning restrictions, such
as village envelopes, which should and must be kept
intact. New building should be restricted to “brown field”
or previously developed sites wherever possible.
The Sluice Gates on the Rivers
In the autumn last year, members will have read in the
press about the Environment Agency’s decision to no
longer operate, for Health and Safety reasons, a certain
type of sluice gate on the Rivers Stour and Colne. It was
obvious that this decision would have a considerable
effect on the management of the rivers in the future,
resulting in serious adverse consequences on the river
valleys. As a result a large number of organisations
(including ourselves), and individuals contacted the
Environment Agency. It is now apparent that this is a
countrywide issue and it would appear the Environment
Agency had not thought through the effect of its decision and has been
taken by complete surprise by the public
reaction. It would appear that individuals who own mills,
and/or have sluice gates on their property are in a very
peculiar position as the legal agreements entered into by
owners with various authorities over many years are very
varied and ambiguous. The Association will support
those members in such a position on the rivers Colne and
Stour as they seek to clarify what they can and can’t do
in the future.
This is a case where we must work closely with other
organisations. Tim Yeo MP has taken the issue forward
with the Environment Agency, and as a member of the
Shadow Cabinet is a powerful ally. In the case of the
Stour, The Dedham Vale and Stour River Project, which
covers the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the
rest of the valley to the source, seems to have taken the
lead, whilst the Colne is under the River Colne
Countryside Project. Both these organisations were set
up and are run by the relevant local authorities. It is early
days and the Environment Agency is currently awaiting a
report from consultants to see, how in future, the rivers
are to be managed. At the time of writing this report there
are signs that the Environment Agency is seeking a way
to go back to running the rivers in the same or a very
similar ways as it has done in the past. Maybe this is
wishful thinking but let us hope this issue can be resolved
satisfactorily as the good management of the rivers is
such an integral part of maintaining the beautiful
environment of the valleys.
In early February a representative of CSCA attended a
meeting with EA, where Tim Yeo was present, and EA
reported that they are in the process of replacing the
mechanisms on the eighteen dangerous sluices. Time will
tell if they are good to their word.
Summer Visit
We were very grateful to Mr and Mrs Andrew Clarke for
allowing us to visit Pentlow Mill.
The weather was kind and their garden and the river were
at their very best. Members were able to stroll through
the grounds and along the riverbank. One could very
easily imagine that one was back in the world of Jane
Austen!
Membership
As mentioned in my introductory letter The Association
has been successful in recruiting new members during the
year. The totals were 48 annual and 26 life but much
more still needs to be done as we need as many names as
possible in order to be able to lobby politicians and
planners effectively.
Therefore, enclosed with this newsletter is the same sheet
as last year, setting out the aims of the Association, the
need for new members, and how this can help the
Association achieve its objectives. On the reverse side is
a membership application form. Further forms and sheets
can be downloaded from the website or obtained from Michael Goodbody to
whom the completed form or
bankers order should be sent.
Please also make certain that you ask the new member to
inform Michael that it was you who recruited them to the
Association. This is important, as every time an existing
member introduces a new member this year, their name
will be allocated a draw ticket – the more new members
the more tickets. At the AGM in 2008 all tickets will be
placed in a hat and the one drawn out will win a magnum
of champagne kindly donated by the committee, who
will, of course be excluded from the draw.
I anticipate that this will give you a little encouragement
in our recruitment drive.
Executive Committee
I would like to thank all members of the Executive
Committee for their work and help over the last year;
without their support my role would be even more
onerous. In particular, I would like to thank Jeremy Hill,
for his invaluable advice throughout the year; Michael
Goodbody, whose meticulous attention to detail, ensures
that the Association’s finances and membership records
are in such good order; Mark Dawson again for his
general advice and his role in running the website, which
is no mean task. Finally my thanks go to our invaluable
secretary Ros Henderson for her considerable assistance
to me personally.
SIMON WARD
Chairman
