Molins site purchase should be celebrated

1:20pm Friday 4th April 2008

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THE £17.5m bid by E-Shelter, a computer data system manufacturer, to buy the Molins site in Saunderton.

I WAS very disappointed to read the coverage on the demise of the Molins site in the BFP two weeks ago.

As the ward district councillor I believed I was being interviewed with my opinion with regards to the new company's plans to replace it.

At the outset I must make it clear that I am very sad that Saunderton's long association with Molins appears to be coming to an end and agree with the editorial in that week's BFP about the general decline in British manufacturing. I very much hope that Molins manages to continue into the future on a more appropriately-sized site in close proximity to the vast site it currently occupies.

However, whilst lamenting the past - we also as residents of the district should be celebrating the future. The potential purchasers are no ordinary new organisation. They plan to erect four eco-friendly, meadow-topped, buildings that will blend beautifully into the Chiltern AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty), and minimise visual impact. E-Shelter has made a point about engaging with the local community on the plans and receiving feedback from locals.

Whilst no plan is ever all things to all men, and there is always room for improvement, E-Shelter's plans tick all the boxes from the community's point of view. This will be a low density employment site, with plans to put in a direct footpath to the station, reducing car movements.

This is a major factor in our locality as the A4010 is already exceptionally busy and will be even more so with the current expansion of Aylesbury. E-Shelter too plans to keep the art-deco style ballroom and restore it to its glory, residents tried unsuccessfully to have the structure listed by English Heritage - if nothing else this will therefore form a lasting legacy to the heyday of the Molins organisation.

Lastly, it would can the proposal muted by the Liberal Democrats, to turn this into a high-density housing site - removing both a major employment site, and putting pressure on the limited local infrastructure is also a blessing.

It is important that there are rural vestiges preserved for us all to enjoy, and that the Bradenham Valley does not merely become a continuation of urban sprawl from West Wycombe to Princes Risborough.

I look forward to E-Shelter's visionary ideas for the site being adopted and welcoming them to our district.

David Devine District Councillor Bledlow & Bradenham Ward