Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Temple Memorial Park (School decision)

Temple Memorial Park (school decision.)

I must say a big "thank you" to the anonymous Councillor who posted the agenda for today's meeting of the Council's Cabinet meeting through my door, along with it's associated background reports.

The likelihood is, that the Cabinet will now be recommending a new "preferred option" to the full Council, that is to build the new super school; at the current Chuter Ede site. The most interesting things to point out are; the Council Officers have radically changed their opinions since Barbara Hughes and Ron Reynolds have left their posts, the importance attached to the possibility of methane leakages into any new buildings erected on Temple Memorial Park.

I feel this fully vindicates the position I have taken since the exclosures became public in December. It was always my intention to link the fears associated with the pollutants found at Trow Quarry to the possibility of a similar scenario at Temple Memorial Park. It was also important to sow these seeds of fear and doubt into the minds of elected members, particularly Labour Councillors in a position to influence the decision making in Cabinet. Hence my campaign of e-mails to individual Councillors, groups of Councillors, letters to the local press, and the instigation of television investigations into Trow Quarry and Temple Park.
I always hoped that this campaign would steel and fortify those who opposed the new school at Temple Park on the simple grounds of the restrictive covenants, which could have been all too easily amended or broken by the Council

Of course, before the new project is able to proceed at Chuter Ede, further site investigations will need to be undertaken at the former landfill site on Benton Road; the new school will be erected adjacent to, not on, the former waste site.


I should also e-mail my associates at Friends of the Earth to ascertain their willingness to join with Councillors for a site visit to Trow Quarry to enable decisions to proceed about it's future safety for public access (see previous blog posts.)

# posted by Curly : 10:15 pm