The plan the Tories must be referring to is the Gloucestershire Joint Core Strategy (JCS). The JCS has its own website.
On the website it says "The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) is a partnership between Gloucester City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, supported by Gloucestershire County Council".
Three out of four of those councils are controlled by Conservatives. Only in Cheltenham is the Council controlled by the Lib Dems. But Cheltenham is a very compact town and our administrative boundaries are at (or close to) the edge of Tewkesbury Borough Council's. This is very important!
 |
| Site SD2, West of Farm Lane, in Conservative controlled Tewkesbury Borough Council's Boundary allocated for 360 houses in Tewkesbury's Local Plan and for 350 in the JCS |
Much of the land around the edge of the town which helps give Cheltenham its green setting is outside the political control of whoever is in power in Cheltenham. Tewkesbury Conservatives have demonstrated that they don't want to protect our boundaries as they allocated a site adjacent to the boundary with Leckhampton (Land West of Farm Lane, also known as SD2) in it's current Local Plan for 360 houses.
 |
| Protesters (including me!) outside Tewkesbury Council opposing development at SD2 West of Farm Lane |
This allocation was dependent on the wider development of land at Leckhampton at part of the now defunct RSS - Leckhampton land does fall within Cheltenham's boundaries and is protected for its landscape value in the current Cheltenham Borough Local Plan.
 |
| Land under threat - the land to the right of the photograph is in Cheltenham but the two parcels of land to the left are in Tewkesbury's administrative boundary |
The draft JCS proposed development at Leckhampton of 1,300 houses plus another 350 at site SD2. This was a massive disappointment and I know many Leckhampton people feel betrayed by this inclusion. However the draft JCS was not put together by the Lib Dem group on Cheltenham Borough Council.
It was prepared by Officers on behalf of Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester Councils. I along with other Lib Dem councillors, LEGLAG and the local MP Martin Horwood wrote to object to the JCS during the recent consultation period.
 |
| Land at Leckhampton currently protected for its Landscape Value in Cheltenham Borough Council's adopted Local Plan (allocated for 1,300 houses in the JCS) |
There is a "Members Steering Group" which a very small group of senior councillors who are the group leaders on the 3 councils sit on to oversee the JCS process. The Cheltenham Conservatives are represented on this important group by their leader Cllr Duncan Smith who is also a County Councillor for Leckhampton so he was well placed to stand up for our area at these meetings.
 |
| Klara (left) with Martin Horwood MP and fellow local residents opposed to the development at SD2, Farm Lane site |
There has been some misinformation put out that I, in my role as Cabinet Member for Housing and Safety at Cheltenham Borough Council, have it within my power to stop the development in Leckhampton. How wonderful it would be if this was true.
The 'Housing' part of my Cabinet portfolio refers to Cheltenham Borough Homes, the Councils Arms Length Management Organisation who look after our stock of council housing on. It also covers Housing Options and Housing Enabling. It does not cover Strategic Planning and the Joint Core Strategy which affect Leckhampton fields.
 |
| Collecting signatures for the LEGLAG Country Park petition with fellow LEGLAG members |
As a County Councillor for Leckhampton and as a LEGLAG member for the last 7 years I have worked tirelessly try and protect the fields in this area from development, writing letters of objection, attending public meetings and Planning Inquires and I even helped draft the wording of the LEGLAG petition to protect land in our area as a Country Park.
The truth is that ALL politicians of ALL parties need to be able to influence their colleagues from elsewhere about the value of this wonderful area. It is simply not true for the Tories to suggest that simply getting the Lib Dems out of office in Cheltenham will protect Leckhampton fields.
Without planning policies do the Tories seriously believe the developers will not submit a planning application? Without planning policies it would be a total free for all on sites all around the town and the County.
 |
| One of the draft plans for development in the area on behalf of the Consortium of Developers who own options on land at Leckhampton and Farm Lane (Shurdington). |
The Conservatives need to work WITH the Lib Dems, WITH LEGLAG to shout about what is great about this area at every opportunity. To point out the ecological and wildlife value of the area and the importance of retaining local agricultural land which could be also be ideal in providing the much needed allotments for South Cheltenham.
Local Leckhampton, Shurdington, Up Hatherley, Warden Hill, College and Park Councillors need to tell ALL of the politicians in the Joint Core Strategy Area that allowing 1,650 houses to be built in Leckhampton and at Farm Lane will ruin the setting of Cheltenham, cripple the local road networks, increase pollution and make it impossible for many existing Leckhampton families to get their children into local schools, particularly Bournside.
A planning application is expected to be submitted for 1,300 houses in Leckhampton/Farm Lane site after the election.
I have asked the County Council to nominate land it owns in Leckhampton for the Queen Elizabeth II Field challenge. This is the Fields in Trust's flagship programme, headed by its Patron The Duke of Cambridge, aiming to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy of the landmark occasions of the Queens Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately the Conservative controlled County Council have so far turned down this request.
If the Tories are serious about protecting Leckhampton why don't they use the power they have to persuade their County Colleagues to change their mind.
Also LEGLAG have applied for two key sites to be designated as Village Greens. Again the Conservative controlled County Council have declined to prioritise these applications even though we know a planning application is imminent.
One of these Village Green applications relates to the extremely vulnerable SD2 site, West of Farm Lane in Tewkesbury Borough. The Conservatives should be telling their County colleagues that they have made protecting Leckhampton a key manifesto pledge and they need their help them fulfill this.
Using Leckhampton fields as a cheap trick in an election campaign is at a stretch understandable but given the immense hard work put in over such a long period of time by so many people, personally I find it unforgivable. Leckhampton needs councillors who will walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
