Letter: My Open Letter to the Secretary of State for Communities

Published on: 18 Sep, 2017
Updated on: 18 Sep, 2017

From Jim Allen

I would like to share my letter to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities with fellow Dragon readers.

Dear Sir,

I see you intend to try and force councils in rich boroughs to build more houses the Local Plan is already trying to provide, against the communities wishes, over 35% more than is rational when compared with other boroughs across the country.

This is all very well but have you considered:

Air pollution is over 40µ m3 in much of the South East specifically along the A3 corridor currently running 200 vehicles per hour at maximum capacity (on an 18-hour figure) in reality it is simply a car park entering Guildford.

In Guildford, we only have four hours worth of water in our pipes before it runs out. It is planned to do an Aral Sea [the central Asian sea that, because of poorly planned Soviet irrigation schemes, decreased in volume from 1,060 km3 to just 210km3 in the forty years to 2003] to the river Severn to find enough water for the South East by transferring it to the Thames thus parching the Severn Valley.

In Burpham ward, we were without a running sewer serving over 5,000 homes for 33 days, including the whole of August, because the company responsible had not cleaned or recorded their sewers for over 33 years. They run at turbo (60%+ in normal times and at hydraulic capacity (100%) when it rains. The company responsible is over £10 billion in debt ( the full report will soon be available).

In respect of roads, the planned widening of the A3 through Guildford would result in under capacity of approx 1,000 vehicles per hour within ten years, a bypass would be under supply by over 500 vehicles per hour and a tunnel under Guildford would give relief capacity of approx 1,000 vehicles per hour but would cost 1.4 billion to build and would start where 1000 homes are planned. There is a requirement for four lanes from Junction 10, M25/ A3, through to the A31 within ten years. Nothing is planned they cannot even sort out J10.

In short sir, your plans are irrational and poorly thought through. Should you wish to rationally discuss this ridiculous situation, I am available at your convenience. I would suggest this is a “developers dream” rather than a requirement of the residents of the UK, for there is no way, with land at over £1 million an acre, ‘low cost’ homes will be built in the areas highlighted, as you suggest.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Allen