Councillor Voices Fears Over Potential "Call For Sites" Legacy
| Published: 13th August 2008 23:40 |
Councillor Phil Turner, cabinet member for resources, has warned of a potential gloomy future for Billericay and Wickford if large areas of green land are approved for development under the controversial Call For Sites policy.
"extremely important"
The scheme allows landowners, including the council, to put forward land for development even if it lies within the Green Belt and saw Mr Turner declare "This Call For Sites is extremely important and the reason it's important is that it has the potential to change things for the worse. The task for me is to see if we can improve people's way of life for the future". He went on "How are we as a council going to develop? If we are going to do it all quickly and on the cheap, then you might find me lying in front of a few bulldozers."
"existing towns could lose their identity"
Councillor Turner also outlined his fears that existing towns could completely lose their identities, when he stated "Billericay, Wickford, Laindon, Basildon and Pitsea could all become one place, so I'm calling on our members and officers to make sure things are sustainable and to look after our towns over the next 15 years".
