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WATER
RIGHTS - Clarion Housing Group and Thakeham
Homes are in danger of spoiling an ancient well that supplies water
to many concerns in this vicinity. In the picture you can see a hired
digger scooping out trenches to test drainage by pouring in water and
measuring the rate of absorption by the soil. It seems to us that if you
build houses on the ground that feeds the ancient well, that
contamination from garden treatments such as Roundup and engine oils,
etc., will find its way into this well leading to claims against the
owners of the houses who would have been sold a pup, and/or against the
Council for approving the proposal, by way of a negligence claim, and/or
against the vendors or developers. Any way you look at it the developers
and Council concerned should take steps to ensure that no development
takes place until the proper tests and evaluations have been completed,
and after that stage, to ensure that any houses built in this location
will not be on a path that includes the water
table that feeds the ancient well.
Any
failure to conduct the proper tests and house situation, along with safe
sewage disposal, may tempt the Secretary
of State to call in the application. We imagine that all of those
with a financial interest in this piece of greenbelt will want to
resolve issues before it starts to get complicated.
ANNEX
1 IMPLEMENTATION
208. The policies in this Framework apply from the day of publication.
209. The National Planning Policy Framework aims to strengthen local decision
making and reinforce the importance of up-to-date plans.
210. Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be
determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
211. For the purposes of decision-taking, the policies in the Local Plan (and the
London Plan) should not be considered out-of-date simply because they were
adopted prior to the publication of this Framework.
212. However, the policies contained in this Framework are material considerations
which local planning authorities should take into account from the day of its
publication. The Framework must also be taken into account in the preparation of plans.
213. Plans may, therefore, need to be revised to take into account the policies in
this Framework. This should be progressed as quickly as possible, either
through a partial review or by preparing a new plan.
214. For 12 months from the day of publication, decision-takers may continue to
give full weight to relevant policies adopted since 2004 even if there is a limited degree of conflict with this
Framework.
215. In other cases and following this 12-month period, due weight should be
given to relevant policies in existing plans according to their degree of
consistency with this framework (the closer the policies in the plan to the
policies in the Framework, the greater the weight that may be given).
216. From the day of publication, decision-takers may also give weight to
relevant policies in emerging plans according to:
●● the stage of preparation of the emerging plan (the more advanced the
preparation, the greater the weight that may be given);
●● the extent to which there are unresolved objections to relevant policies
(the less significant the unresolved objections, the greater the weight that
may be given); and
●● the degree of consistency of the relevant policies in the emerging plan to
the policies in this Framework (the closer the policies in the emerging plan
to the policies in the Framework, the greater the weight that may be given).
217. Advice will be available immediately and free of charge from a support
service provided by the Local Government Association, the Planning
Inspectorate and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
This will assist local planning authorities in considering the need to update
their Local Plan and taking forward efficient and effective reviews.
39 In development plan documents adopted in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 or
published in the London Plan.
40 Unless other material considerations indicate otherwise.
218. Where it would be appropriate and assist the process of preparing or
amending Local Plans, regional strategy policies can be reflected in Local
Plans by undertaking a partial review focusing on the specific issues involved.
Local planning authorities may also continue to draw on evidence that
informed the preparation of regional strategies to support Local Plan policies,
supplemented as needed by up-to-date, robust local evidence.
219. This Framework has been drafted to reflect the law following the implementation of the Localism Act 2011, so, where appropriate, policies will
apply only when the relevant legislation is in force.
41 Regional strategies remain part of the development plan until they are abolished by Order using powers taken in the
Localism Act. It is the government’s clear policy intention to revoke the regional strategies outside of London, subject to
the outcome of the environmental assessments that are currently being undertaken.
50
CONTACTS
Department for Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London,
SW1E 5DU
United
Kingdom
Telephone: 030 3444 0000
HINKLEY,
CALIFORNIA - GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION - The
town of Hinkley, California,
located in the Mojave Desert, (about 121 miles driving distance
north-northeast of Los Angeles) had its groundwater contaminated with
hexavalent chromium starting in 1952, resulting in a legal case
against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and a multimillion-dollar
settlement in 1996. The legal case was dramatized in the film Erin
Brockovich, released in 2000.
Residents of Hinkley filed a class action against PG&E,
encaptioned Anderson, et al. v. Pacific Gas and Electric (Superior Ct.
for County of San Bernardino, Barstow Division, file BCV 00300.
In 1993, Erin Brockovich, a legal clerk to lawyer Edward L. Masry,
investigated the apparent elevated cluster of illnesses in the
community linked to hexavalent chromium. The efforts of Brockovich and
Masry, and the plight of the people of Hinkley, became widely known
when the film Erin Brockovich was released in 2000.
After
many arguments, the case was referred to arbitration with maximum
damages of $400 million. After the arbitration for the first 40 people
resulted in roughly $110 million,
PG&E reassessed its position and decided to end arbitration and
settle the entire case. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million,
the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S.
history.
In 2006, PG&E agreed to pay $295 million to settle cases involving
another 1,100 people statewide for hexavalent chromium-related claims.
In 2008, PG&E
settled the last of the cases involved with the Hinkley claims for $20
million.
LEAD
CASE: In the case of Wealden
District Council and planning application WD/2015/0090/MAO,
originally filed by Tim
Watson in 2014, then re-filed by Gleeson
Developments in 2015, and taken over by Clarion
Group and Thakeham
Group, there appear to be multiple errors in applying these
policies to greenbelt, including failing to protect open spaces and
the historic built environment, and not promoting sustainable
transport.
The
Horse
Sanctuary Trust are following this case with much interest. We
consider that the paper trail will eventually make interesting
reading, leading us to who is making the decisions and the money
........
GREENBELT
- Digging up Greenfield sites for quick
profits from windfall planning consents is ruining the heritage of
the nation. Once it is gone, it is gone. Britain is short of genuinely
affordable housing that developers are loath to provide where all they
want is the money. It may be that Clarion Housing and Thakeham intend
building affordable units on this site. They should also bear in mind
the requirement for sustainable development in United
Nations terms. Copyright photograph © April 26 2018, Herstmonceux
Museum Limited. All rights reserved. You may not copy this picture
except for educational
use.
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