10:09am Friday 10th July 2009
HERE we go again, Wycombe District council is inviting us all to join in on another round of public consultation, this time “Delivering the strategy for Wycombe ( IF5)”.
Another in a long line of consultations it follows on from The Marlow Parking and Transportation study, The Brewery site, Remnantz, countless Waitrose schemes, The local plan, Sainsbury’s, design and development briefs for Riley Road (M4) and Portlands (M5), Higginson Park improvements, Higginson Park Toilet Café, Marlow FC stadium, Oaktree Road housing, etc. etc, and IF4 which was the predecessor to this stage known as IF5 and that one passed me by completely.
As taxpayers we are entitled to have succumbed to consultation fatigue, but we must overcome that, for this is too important as it sets a framework to seriously affect our and future generations.
Unfortunately WDC is making it difficult for us. The timing is bad and the consultation period too short. The council stubbornly refuses to learn. The last consultation for the M4 development brief was held during a short run up to Christmas. This time it has been designed over the summer period when most of us are either away on, or planning, our summer holidays, making it unlikely that it will receive the attention it truly deserves.
The council is holding six major events that will throw some light on the issues involved, but has allowed only four weeks after the last one, before the August 14 deadline it’s set for the receipt of comments.
Once again WDC is not making it easy for us to fully understand what is proposed, we are offered three options for reading a massive document comprising three parts. The first option is by computer but the document of some 30mb is too big to download economically, even if one had a computer and not everyone has.
Copies of the document are available at libraries and information centres, although few will be willing to spend hours reading there. The third option is to buy one for £25 . Why on earth should we be expected to pay for them, when at a small cost the council could help by providing copies to libraries for short- term loans to the public?
If the council wants to receive a seriously considered response it should take on board these points and extend the period and make the documents freely and more readily available. I can only hope that our elected councillors will ensure that it does. From my experience of attending the first of the six events held at Marlow on July 7,, that much is the least the council needs to do.
JD Burnham, Harwood Road, Marlow.
RE: Last week’s letter saying taxes on motoring, cigarettes and alcohol are the backbone of Government income.
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