Open letter to Purbeck District councillors

Re: Local Plan Partial Review Consultation 2016

YOU are aware of the contents of the above which was passed for consultation by Purbeck District Council in May 2016 despite concerns expressed by councillors regarding the revised housing numbers.

Wool has, over the past 150 years, grown to accommodate the railway, the innovation of the tank and the establishment of a nuclear power research facility.

It also has, until now, managed to maintain its heart and its agricultural roots.

The village has a forward looking mentality and therefore the cry of ‘Nimby’ would be unjust as it faces its biggest challenge for 60 years.

There is deep grass roots concern over the plan to envelop the organic farmland surrounding the village with housing.

There is indeed a need for housing which people, particularly the young, can afford.

Wool has the largest population density in Purbeck (3.6 persons per ha. versus 1.1 person per ha. in the rest of the District, 2011 census).

The first Issues and Options consultation in 2015 returned a majority in favour of proportional development across the district, (Exploration of Different Growth Scenarios, Purbeck District Council, Oct. 2015).

This was declared by officers to be undeliverable and the advice to councillors on the Purbeck Partial Review Group was to dismiss this option from the present consultation. Officers advise but Councillors are there to represent their constituents who quite clearly made their feelings known on the issue of where housing should go.

To deny them this option in a further consultation is undemocratic and gives the impression of a weak elected chamber.

The present consultation has presented the residents of Wool with one proposal for 1,000 houses wrapped up in several options.

In other words, there is no option.

There is also disquiet about the proposals throughout Pur- beck.

Those villages and towns who have been given numbers which will double the size of their settlements are understandably concerned.

Those villages who have no housing allocation are also worried as they see their very viability dwindle over the next 20 years.

I would ask that you, as an elected representative have the courage to challenge the argument put forward by officers that proportional development is not viable.

It is beholden upon you and your fellow councillors to arrive at a Local Plan that is fit for the future so that all, both native and newcomer, may continue to enjoy the villages, towns and countryside of Purbeck.

It is time that the elected representatives of Purbeck District Council stood up to their officers and to Government.

Nickie Johnson East Burton, Wool