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Anger
over Parish Plan
Wednesday 6 February 2008
(click on photo for larger image)
Copyright Brilliant TV
Parish Council meetings don't usually
attract much attention, but on Tuesday night over 70 members of the
public crowded into the community Hall on High Road to let the Cookham
Parish Council know the strength of feeling to the proposed Cookham
Plan.
People Gather for the Meeting in the Community Room
Sadly nobody from the Plan's committee
attended to defend the Plan.
Indeed any benefits there may be hidden in
the Plan are overshadowed and compromised by a recommendation for
development of a road and housing on the Poundfield site.
This has been successfully fought by the
village for over a generation and in the last twenty years went as far
as Cabinet level when Michael Heseltine the then Secretary of State
rejected the plans. The Cookham Plan calls for a road across Poundfield
and housing including affordable housing.
Parish Council Chairman Pat Woodbridge Addresses the Meeting
What was clear from the people who
attended the Council meeting was the continued strength of village
opposition and the emergence of new determined Cookhamites who are
concerned at the threat to the democratic process.
Among the issues raised was a request to
clarify the consultation process - the answer from the Parish Council
left many baffled. It was disclosed that the Cookham Plan's Housing
committee's report was rejected by the Plan's chairman and a second
report has been prepared without the approval of the
many people on the Housing Committee.
Martin Coker on the Housing Committee Explains the Two Versions
Lots of Questions Were Asked
The Parish Council meets for its AGM on
March 11th in Pinder Hall when there will be one item on the agenda -
The Cookham Plan. Residents are encouraged to attend and voice their
feelings - "politely please" said the Parish Council Chairman
Pat Woodbridge "without personal animosity".
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