Wiltshire Councillor calling for unity against housing development
Killane invites all to stand together against large scale development for Malmesbury.
Dear Community Organisations of Malmesbury
I wish to clearly state my views regarding possible new housing development on sites located in Malmesbury. Our town is at a pivotal point regarding housing development.
We know that schools are full or nearly full, there are too many cars and too few parking places and that other key services can only just about cope. We can't just add hundreds more houses and hope that the requirements of residents can be met. Basic infrastructural and amenity service requirements will be stretched too far!
We need to carefully consider the needs of local young people desperate to afford their first home, families in need of more space, and elderly residents looking for retirement accommodation. We need to understand the consequences for schools' capacity, parking and health care facilities. We need to understand the limits of the "Old Town" to cope with ever increasing numbers of cars and people. We need to protect the shops and small businesses that are at the heart of a thriving local economy. We need to make sure that any new development does not damage the historical, conservation and environmental characteristics that make England's oldest borough one of the most beautiful. We need to make sure that new developments breathe new life into our High Street rather than slowly kill it.
The people of Malmesbury now need to act with a positive spirit of unity. We need to join together and recognise that development will have a major influence on us all. We must co-ordinate our activities in a way that demonstrates that we are working together with a common purpose.
Malmesbury Town Council has rightly set up a "Malmesbury Development Forum" to address this need for unity and a sense of common purpose. The "Malmesbury Development Forum" has invited the leaders of the Civic Trust, Malmesbury and St. Paul's Without Residents' Association, Malmesbury and District Chamber of Commerce, me and other important community representatives to form a group to work together to investigate the future needs of our town. I strongly believe that this group is the most appropriate forum for discussions about future housing development. This is the appropriate place for prospective developers to come and introduce their proposals. I strongly assert that it is totally inappropriate and unwise for local community organisations to hold private discussions with developers.
I urge all community organisations in Malmesbury to reject the invitations of developers to join them in private meetings and to refrain from inviting developers to hold private meetings with their organisations. I ask these organisations to join forces with the "Malmesbury Development Forum" and offer these developers a chance to discuss their plans in a group that includes all community organisations, is open to attendance by members of the public and promptly publishes minutes that are freely available and accessible to the public.
Please join these community leaders in endorsing this statement:
Patrick Goldstone, Mayor of Malmesbury
Warren Hateley, Chair of the Malmesbury & District Chamber of Commerce
Roger Budgen, Chair of St Paul's Without Residents' Association
Regards,
Simon Killane,
Wiltshire Councillor for Malmesbury
Click here to view the forum:
