Just before Christmas a government minister made a statement about the East of England Plan. This is the framework under which local councils must work when preparing their own plans for urban expansion.
Following the government’s review of the Draft Plan, they have added Hemel Hempstead as a “growth location close to London”. This is in addition to the large number of new homes already proposed for Hemel and St Albans will push our already-stretched infrastructure to the limit.
Although not directly affecting Markyate, a significant increase in population will affect the basic infrastructure that local people use, including schools, hospitals, traffic and transport or – the one that really concerns me at the moment – water supply.
It worries me greatly that so many decisions affecting our lives seem to be made by bodies which many of us have never heard of and over which we seem to have no control. Our elected representatives have no say.
Whether it is the closure of Hemel’s hospital, or the proposals for thousands of new houses to be squeezed in between Hemel and St Albans, it seems our local elected representatives have little chance to even discuss the plans.
I raised this issue in the House of Commons and it appears that many MPs – from all parties – are also worried about this growing trend. These unelected and apparently unaccountable bodies spend vast amounts of our money every year.
I urge all Markyate residents to make themselves aware of what is happening – you can view the plan on the East of England Regional Assembly website, www,eera.gov.uk (and you thought we didn’t have regional government!!).
(Draft plan can be viewed at: http://www.eera.gov.uk/category.asp?cat=452)
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