SADs, Dams And 'Lies' In Green-field Dispute

An unseemly spat has broken out between rival Park ward candidates and their supporters over the future of the much-loved Alfred Sutton Playing fields.

Green Party candidate Rob White recently launched a campaign to 'say NO' to developing the open-space - with a 'press release and the ubiquitous Facebook group.

He states that "development on these playing fields has been stopped in the past and we will stop it this time too."

However Labour's Richard MacKenzie struck back, accusing the Greens of 'scaremongering' in a very strongly-worded post entitled 'Lies, damn lies and the Green Party'.

The former Labour councillor for Kentwood argues he campaigned to protect the 5.6 hectare site in 1999 and publishes a letter signed by Cllr Tony Page (1, 2), who is clearly not above joining in the slanging match, by attacking "apparent mischief-making and rumour-mongering being fomented in parts of Park Ward".

He then followed up with a secondary blast accusing his opponents of 'Greenspin'.

Rob White however disputes this, calling Mr Page's words a lot of 'waffle'. He links to the Site Allocations Document (SAD) on the council website showing an area off Crescent Road under proposal.

He also attempts to 'fisk' the rebuttal by citing 'unnamed' council officers who informed him the new Local Development Framework has made the protection afforded in previous briefs "of questionable value" which "wouldn't hold up under an appeal from a developer."

Jane Griffiths is always quick to scent the opportunity to exercise her vendetta against her former Labour-party colleagues and immediately springs to the defence of Rob White, making an assertive comment that the man she calls 'Basher' and Labour's deputy leader of the council are lying.

She claims Cllr Page's letter is an admission that there are concrete plans to plough up the open space and that the mere existence of it on the Site and Detailed Policies Document (SDPD) is proof alone.

However Cllr Page writes:

"Neither I nor my colleagues in the administration would support any development for residential which included the adjacent playing fields."

He also states that the current status of the site is under consideration and that "the January Council meeting will agree a revised draft document for consultation during 2010."

On closer inspection of the documents a more complex picture is apparent, as the site is currently of mixed-usage with some indoor sports facilities and classrooms occupying about half of the site.

The proposal is for replacement buildings, requiring 'mitigation... for development outside of building foot print'.

So when I recently spoke to a local resident who is 'in the know', I was told the campaign to restrict the number of houses on the Green Road development (to the immediate south of the site) had raised the point that the large portion of the playing fields sits directly under Whiteknights Lake dam, and this makes the open space an unsuitable location for wider development in any event.

In other words the protection of the playing fields is to be taken on advice only, but equally, neither are they facing an immediate threat.

Satellite view of the site.


Oranjepan says:
It seems both sides are at best only half-right as the truth has followed its' usual habit of getting lost in the technical wording of obscure procedural documents and an increasingly bitterly-fought election campaign.

The Nitty Gritty

Following on from the outburst of comment regarding the winter weather problems and my attempt to provide a round-up summarising what happened it seems only a few days of introspection elapsed before more questions have arisen.

Cllr Benson provided a detailed account of the current council policy, which notes the proritization of primary routes.

However she also picks up on the out-sourcing of the management contract for 'winter traffic maintenance' to WPC Consultants, which in turn is responsible for managing the gritting contract with JH Cresswell & Sons.

In extreme conditions secondary confirmation of action is required to be provided by RBC authorities to take account of changing needs.

Obviously with such a divided structure communications can become easily strained.

As she continues, each side will need to respond to some serious questions about their performance in the policy review that has been scheduled for 28th January.

Meanwhile Cllr Benson is also concerned about the lack of leadership provided by the politicians who are nominally in charge of the structure.

So she may be glad to hear former Labour councillor and transport supremo John Howarth step up onto his soapbox and criticise a "widespread failure for individuals to take responsibility" as 15 years of progressive cuts to winter maintenance as the council was forced to look for ways to save money - perhaps it really is an honest mea culpa, or maybe he is just falling on his sword because when push comes to shove Labour doesn't believe in collective responsibility after all.

Local Conservative MPs John Howell and Rob Wilson continue to blame local council's simple lack of contingency planning and the amount of money in council coffers, while belatedly calling for a review of procedures to discover what conclusions should be drawn.

And although council services struggled to keep roads clear this caused a thorough depletion of gritting stockpiles, there are only enough supplies to cope with six more days of frost...

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Update: On my other blog I compare the structural flaws which lead to the weather chaos with the structural flaws which lead to the credit crunch and the MP expenses scandal... and find some striking similarities.

Howard Thomas is worried authorities in Reading are oblivious to the temperatures.

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Related reading: Commuters Grit Teeth As Weather Woes Grip Region; Anger Grows At Failure To Prevent Traffic Chaos; Whiteout Fallout Continues; Views and Perspectives; Round-up: What Went Wrong With The Winter Weather

Hospital-area Parking Problems

Concerns continue to be raised about the apparant profiteering on peripheral Hospital services by local NHS trusts desperate for funding.

Royal Berkshire Hospital in central Reading is on Cllr Benson's patch, so we might expect her postbag to fill up with complaints from residents who are concerned about the overspill from visitors unwilling or unable to pay the high charges.

Meanwhile Labour member Andy Peacock reports Health Minister Andy Burnham MP's response.

In comparison to the free car parking at hospitals in Wales and Scotland the average hourly charge in England is £1.09.

As Mr Burnham says, "The time has come for a fairer, more consistent approach."

Meanwhile LibDem PPC for Reading East Cllr Gareth Epps points out how the matter is connected to general government policy.

The reduction in funding grants is actively encouraging Reading University to increase development on its land with the new privately-owned 700-room Mansfield Hall of residence, which will have no social facilities or car-parking.

So residents can expect greater congestion in the future...

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Update: Elsewhere a committee has been set up to review car park policy at five hospitals in Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead. Submissions will be accepted until 15th February in time for findings during March.