[BREAKING NEWS]
Il comune Wokingham ha rigettato il piano della MRT. Nonostante ciò il comune di Reading non si da per vinto.

E’ importante quindi che continuiate a leggere l’articolo e che inviate  comunque la e-mail di protesta al Reading Borough Council.

Il nostro fantastico ed illuminato Reading Council, come avevo già spiegato in un altro post, ha avuto la brillante idea di progettare la distruzione del nostro bellissimo riverside (non quella accozzaglia di ristoranti mediocri ma quello vero) per costruire una strada a scorrimento veloce o meglio conosciuta come MRT, acronimo di Mass Rapid Transport o forse di Messing up Reading’s Thames.

Questo comporterà l’abbattimento di alberi secolari e lo sconvolgimento dell’intero ecosistema del Riverside.

Per indorare la pillola hanno dato al progetto una parvenza di finto ecologismo paventando la costruzione di una pista ciclabile.

Fortunatamente l’associazione SOAR (Save Our Ancient Riverside) si sta battendo per fermare questo scempio.

Pure tu però devi fare la tua parte! Bastano solo un paio di click.

Bisogna mandare la seguente mail a richard.eatough@reading.gov.uk


Subject: complaint with regard to the consent for Planning Application 171108, East Reading Mass Rapid Transit

Testo da inviare (alla fine mettete il vostro nome ed indirizzo)

Dear Mr Eatough

Please register my complaint with regard to the consent for Planning Application 171108, East Reading Mass Rapid Transit, on the following basis:

At the planning committee meeting on Wednesday 30th May you referred to legal objections by open spaces campaigner Brian Wright, stating that formal appropriation of open space along the route could be carried out following planning consent.

This was misleading because councils can only appropriate open space which they already own, and the bulk of the open space along the route is owned by Reading University or Wokingham Borough Council or is in private ownership.

An objective Deliberation by the council, as required by law that the open space is no longer required will now be IMPOSSIBLE, because the council proposes to acquire all open space specifically for the development. To avoid the perception of prejudgment the council should first have acquired all open space land along the proposed route.

In addition, I would object to any Appropriation Notice on the basis that the council’s open spaces policies require the protection of all open spaces and gives them priority over road infrastructure. The council has clearly ignored its own policies and government legislation, which together should make all open spaces sacrosanct from any kind of development.

The council now has 12 weeks to respond to my complaint, and if I am not satisfied with the council’s response I will be entitled to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman, which in 2013 awarded £250 compensation to one complainant in comparable circumstances in the Bolsover case:

 https://www.lgo.org.uk/assets/attach/2130/12-009-272-Bolsover-DC-05.11.2013.pdf In this case the LGO found that ‘The council failed to advertise its intention to appropriate the public open space as required by law. This meant people could not object to changes in the way the land could be used in the future.’

Definition of Public Open Space.

‘Open space is defined in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as land laid out as a public garden, or used for the purposes of public recreation, or land which is a disused burial ground. However, in applying the policies in this Guidance, open space should be taken to mean all open space of public value, including not just land, but also areas of water such as rivers, canals, lakes and reservoirs which offer important opportunities for sport and recreation and can also act as a visual amenity.

The following typology illustrates the broad range of open spaces that may be of public value:

  1. i. parks and gardens – including urban parks, country parks and formal gardens;
 natural and semi-natural urban greenspaces – including woodlands, urban forestry, scrub, grasslands (e.g. downlands, commons and meadows), wetlands, open and running water, wastelands and derelict open land and rock areas (e.g. cliffs, quarries and pits);
iii. green corridors – including river and canal banks, cycleways, and rights of way;’

Yours sincerely
<Insert Name>
<Insert Address>