Tewkesbury councillors plan referendum on new housing targets
TEWKESBURY town councillors who are campaigning against plans for thousands of new homes want to hold a referendum on the issue.
Last week the Government announced 14,600 new homes were to be built in the borough over the next two decades, with 2,900 earmarked for the town.
The news shocked councillors and residents, coming days after the first anniversary of floods which left parts of the borough under water.
Town councillor Jimmy Fitzpatrick is behind the referendum and says residents should get to vote on whether they support the proposals or not.
He said: “I read the Government reports and based on last year's events, I wonder if these people are for real.
“I fully understand the need for housing for people but Tewkesbury has had a major catastrophe and the town is just starting to get back on its feet with people still out of their homes.”
Tewkesbury borough mayor Brian Calway is also behind the idea.
He said a final wording had not been decided, but residents would be asked if they agreed with the recommendation that an additional 14,600 houses are built in Tewkesbury borough.
In 2004, a referendum on whether to save Alderman Knight School for children with learning difficulties cost about £30,000 to stage.
Mr Fitzpatrick admitted the cost of another vote could scupper the idea but hoped it would be shared by borough, town and parish councils.
“If everyone chips in, I think we'll get a good response from the electorate because they will not want to see those floods again,” he said.
“It would be absolutely crazy to build this many houses and I hope members back the motion.”
The move comes as residents gear up to fight the proposed new housing.
Last week it was announced the Blue Wave march, which was organised to speak out against building on floodplains a year after the floods, would become a permanent campaign to get funds for a legal challenge to the proposals, which are part of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West.
Tomorrow, an extraordinary meeting of Tewkesbury Town Council will take place at the Town Hall at 7pm to discuss the RSS homes.
Town mayoress Barbara Cromwell said she had arranged it to listen to people's concerns about recent house allocation from the Government with a view to seeing what the town council and councillors can do to support the residents.
A referendum is a direct vote where the electorate is asked to accept or reject a particular proposal.
In the UK, local referendums are not legally binding, but can have a persuasive effect on Government.
The cost depends on factors including publicity, ballot production and counting costs.
Councillors will vote on the referendum on Monday.
2 Comments
by Lisa, Tewkesbury
Thursday, July 31 2008, 12:50PM
“May I take it Mr Oakley that you were not effected in anyway by last years flooding, as it is comments like this that leads to these people thinking they can put more houses where ever they want, without dealing with drainage and sewage infrastructure. It has been a year since the last flood and people are still out of their homes and there are many people coming to terms with the loss of items that are Irreplaceable and not forgetting the loss of life. I think that all building in the Gloucestershire area should stop until the builders have better knowledge of how to build on flood plains!!!!!!!”
by Andrew Oakley, Alderton near Winchcombe
Tuesday, July 29 2008, 11:32AM
“Whilst I don't want to see building on the flood plain, there are lots of villages around Tewkesbury District which desperately need more houses.
I'd love a large developer to build a dozen or more new houses in our village, so we could afford a larger house and make room for a second child. With local schools threatened with closure, busses being cancelled due to lack of use and post offices closing for lack of customers, we need to encourage economically active families to breathe new life into rural areas. These families can't afford to spend half a million pounds on luxury homes built one or two at a time, and they can't fit into small granny bungalows or tiny weekend holiday homes. Young families need spacious affordable housing that can only come with economies of scale - that means building a dozen cheap houses, all in one place and all in one go. Maybe if our village had more families, they'd bring our daily bus service back.”