NEWS: Breaking news! October 10, 2019
Government tells SODC it cannot scrap its Local Plan as planned tonight
Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has written to to Cllr Sue Cooper, Leader for South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC), because of SODC’s Cabinet decision to “recommend withdrawing the emerging SODC Local Plan”.
Robert Jenrick MP goes on to say “I hereby direct South Oxfordshire District Council not to take any step in connection with adoption of the plan, while I consider the matter further.”
SODC leadership changed as a result of local elections in May 2019, with many new Councillors being elected on the basis of being anti-expressway and wanting to reduce the housing targets in SODC Local Plan, which many consider higher than warranted. This would put the Oxford Housing and Growth Deal in jeopardy.
As a result of Robert Jenrick’s letter, the 39 people lined up to speak at tonight’s SODC meeting about the Local Plan were told they could not do so and that there was to be no debate. Nothing like democracy in action!
If this is how the Government manages a democratic challenge to housing targets in one county, how dictatorial will they be about the 1 million homes along the Ox-Cam Arc?
The community are angry and it has been big news on Twitter, the BBC and Oxford Mail and Oxford Times. Here’s just a couple of tweets!
Angry? Frustrated? Join our campaign today!
We urgently need your help.
Your donations are needed now, to help us run the campaign and pay for political consultants and other professional experts to bring this campaign to the attention of Westminster as well as local politicians.
No Expressway Group believes there is no need for an Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, nor the over-inflated housing targets associated with it, and we will actively campaign against it and support other organisations with the same objectives.
Our environment is a national asset which is critical for everyone’s health and well-being. We must not let it be destroyed.
Your donations help us to spread information about the Expressway, run and build support for the campaign:
£10 could pay for one roadside Correx poster
£15 could pay for one roadside poster on a wooden stake
£20 could pay for one A1 printed colour poster for our pagoda display
£35 could pay for 250 A5 printed leaflets for the campaign
£70 could pay for one pole and two panels for our travelling pagoda display
£150 could pay for one feather flag for our travelling pagoda
£180 could pay to run this website for one year
£300 could pay for a 3 minutes of an Expressway Story
£500 could pay for a 5 minutes of an Expressway Story
A greater or other amount could contribute to the cost of professional support for our campaign in general and in preparation for Planning Inspectorate hearings
Please note:
The No Expressway Group has a group bank account to which the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are signatories. The group will publish accounts on noexpressway.org each year which will be audited by an accountant from outside the NEG group.
If any funds are left at the end of the campaign, these will be donated equally between RSPB and BBOWT.