COMMUNITY RESOURCES > LOCAL ISSUES > GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FROM LANCASTER TO THE UNIVERSITY Steve Booth 27/9/02 STOP THE SPRAWL The story doesn't end there because more developments are now planned for campus, latest being an 'Infolab' complex, which one critic described as looking like a Dalek Factory. Local people objected to the development, people in Galgate are worried about the increased run off from the extra buildings and new roads causing floods. Meadow Park has flooded at least three times since the previous expansion in 1993. Ellel residents were worried about the impact of the new buildings, the nearest being just 150 yards away. Then there are road safety fears, and worries about traffic delays from the A6 link road. Predictably, our objections have been brushed aside, the plans for the Jarvis build being rubber stamped through on August 27th. RESIDENTIAL STEW This continual expansion of the university here is just one aspect of the problem. They are not the only ones building. Here in Galgate, people expressed disquiet against new developments like Crofters Fold and Carrwood Gardens. Some wags renamed the village 'Jacksonville.' Further north, near Scotforth, there are the Royal Albert and Whinney Carr housing estates, steadily spreading southwards, being given naff pretentious names like Highgrove and Maryvale. Take a look at these places and see their true awfulness; their sameness, the way builders cram as many in as possible, with just a small space in between each conformist little box. The sprawl spreads relentlessly southwards, with no real prospect of stopping unless the opposition to it can become louder, more focused and politically effective. HIDDEN AGENDA Study their plans - Whinney Carr North 13.5 hectares, Whinney Carr S. 30 Ha, Site 35, site EC, Bailrigg Business Park, Lawson's Bridge 7.3 Ha, Burrow Beck area H4, the university expansions, Wardfield Farm Galgate.... (and these are just the ones they admitted to). Come to see the university expansion as but a small part of it. What is needed is a concentrated opposition to this,
a tight alliance between the local Green Party, existing conservation
campaigns, and residents' groups. Presently we react to the council
salami slicing tactics as and when they arise, but we really need
to work continuously and build up momentum. Photos of the threatened
countryside could be put on glossy brochures and distributed to all
the voters in the threatened areas. Longer term, a campaign to get
this whole area declared green belt or protected status is needed.
We need to change the political balance of Links to other articles: 16th June 2002 |
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