What do I see?

What do I see in my ‘back yard’?

I see communities in Great Glen and Oadby Washbrook having homes and business devastated time and time again with flooding - a problem which has got worse each time adjacent arable land has been built on.

I see tenant farmers, whose families have farmed this land for generations, being forced to leave.

I see gridlocked traffic on the A6, in both directions, every single day.

I see pollution in Kibworth at dangerous levels.

I see ridge and furrow from our mediaeval heritage earmarked to be built on and destroyed forever.

I see calculations where the number at the bottom is negative - it’s not possible to build schools or surgeries or new roads with negative money.

I see people in Great Glen and Oadby unable to get a GP appointment now.

I see expert reports saying this site is not financially viable. If it’s not viable, that means there is no money to fund infrastructure.

I see enormous housing development being planned where there are neither jobs, nor public transport, nor the excess cash to subsidise or improve public transport, forcing thousands more cars onto the roads.

I see the UK dependent on other countries for 40% of our basic food, in a world becoming more and more unstable - yet instead of making our food supply more secure, the authorities favour destroying farmland over redevelopment.

I see developers wanting to redevelop brownfield sites in Leicester city, but being blocked from doing so by red tape.

I see the county council, local councillors, parish councils, our MP and thousands of residents all against this plan - a plan imposed by government before any local scrutiny and without the housing minister even visiting the site.

I see a large site strategy being proposed yet again - a strategy which has already failed spectacularly on two other sites in the county which only produced a fraction of the homes they were meant to. If something hasn’t worked before, it shows the strategy itself is flawed. Repeating the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different result, is a definition of stupidity.

I see the desperate need for very high quality drainage improvements and flood defenses that have an astronomical price-tag attached, even before more houses are built exacerbating the situation.

I see officials giving residents different answers, or no answers, or just saying ‘it’s up to the developer’ when asked direct questions on how is the required infrastructure going to be funded and delivered. Why? Because there is no guaranteed funding.

What else do I see?

I see people dismissing calculations, soil science and drainage mechanics - having no comprehension of the large-scale knock-on spacial consequences of huge development in a very small area already under huge pressure, - yet believing they know better than experts. Ridiculous!

I see people who call science, mathematical modelling, pure logic and basic economics, rubbish or worse. Pure ignorance!

Such people are not informed, and are simply not qualified to comment, let alone make decisions that will affect this land for generations.

And they think they can dismiss all this logic, science and basic economics simply by branding me a nimby?

Pathetic!

Facts are facts.

I love this land - the land of my ancestors.

I care about these people, these communities.

I care about this heritage. To ignore this impending damage to the land of my ancestors is unthinkable. I will not betray my ancestors. Would you betray yours?

I care about people’s homes being secure and dry.

I care about our farmers - my family has generations of Leicestershire farmers who have dedicated themselves to the land so that people can eat.

I care about people being able to see the doctor when they need to, have a job, get to work.

Is this selfish? Let’s see shall we.

Would I have a longer commute? No, I work from home.

Is my home under threat of flood? No it is not.

Would I lose the view from my windows? No, it would not change.

Would it affect my house value? I doubt it and I’m not going anywhere anyway.

I’m not the one who is short-sighted here! I’m looking at the big picture. A picture that affects beautiful Leicestershire and many thousands of lives.

This flawed plan will adversely affect all the residents of Great Glen, Oadby, Stretton Hall, Kibworth, Newton Harcourt, Stoughton, Burton Overy, Stoneygate, Wigston, Thurnby, Fleckney, Wistow, villages on the rat-run cross country to Lutterworth, everyone who commutes on the A6 to Leicester or Market Harborough. Many thousands of people.

Here’s a better question…

Am I prepared to let ignorance be the loudest voice and stop me from speaking up when it’s the right thing to do?

Never!

Many things in our community are already stretched to breaking point. There is no leeway to squeeze more in without radical levels of new funding. Putting new enormous development here - without any guaranteed funding for the infrastructure - would put catastrophic strain on this area.

To do so isn’t serving any community - neither existing nor new.

I am a scientist. I know that when you increase strain dramatically in a small area there is only one possible result - fracture. I do know what I’m talking about.

There is a solution - spread it over a much larger area. The same amount can then be accommodated without the damaging strain. This is fracture mechanics. Pure and simple. This is science.

Think I’m wrong? You get a PhD in fracture mechanics and then we’ll talk! Not before.

My back yard? Your back yard? This is much bigger than any back yard!

This is intrinsically flawed and unsound - no matter where it is. This should not be imposed anywhere.

Show me a plan where the local residents are protected from having their homes flooded

- where the environment is protected

- heritage is honoured

- rural way of life preserved for those who’ve worked the land for generations

- where new infrastructure is guaranteed with full funding

- where the calculations prove there is enough money to fund everything the local population needs

- where development is spread so the impact can be ameliorated

- where the traffic is flowing and road upgrades guaranteed

- where houses are put adjacent to jobs, not on the opposite side of the county

- and where GP appointments and school places are freely available.

That is a plan I could support.

Until then - Stop The New Town!