"Blatant abuse of the system"

Limpsfield Parish Council has written this to the Inspector:

1 April 2008

Mr D Vickery DipTP MRTPI
Inspector Public Examination
c/o Tandridge District Council
Planning Department
Station Road East
Oxted
Surrey RH8 0BT

Dear Mr Vickery

Tandridge District Council Core Strategy: exploratory meeting, 3 April 2008

Limpsfield Parish Council is extremely concerned about the recent turn of events regarding the Tandridge Core Strategy Process. The 'exploratory meeting' scheduled for this Thursday, 3 April 2008, appears to undermine the legislative process laid down to ensure fair public consultation and participation in the strategic planning for the District.

It has come to our attention that two developers, Village Developments and Asprey Homes, have been allowed to submit 'scoping reports' for examination at this meeting, when it is clear that the Core Strategy should not be site specific. These reports amount to nothing short of pre-planning applications and the fact that they are being examined prior to public consultation is blatant abuse of the system and will bias any future, local, democratic decision making.

It is imperative that the process adopted for determining the outcome of the Tandridge Core Strategy Document is transparent, fair and in accordance with the Planning Inspectorate's guidelines. Unless local residents are given an opportunity to respond to submissions, together with the time in which to prepare responses, then the process is seriously flawed.

Limpsfield Parish Council strongly supports the Tandridge Core Strategy as submitted. In particular, the two statements within Policy CSP1 which say that there will be no changes to the boundaries of larger rural settlements or Green Belt settlements and there will be no change to the Green Belt boundaries. The Parish Council was assured in previous correspondence of its own with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister that there were no plans to relax planning controls on the Green Belt or in the open countryside. Moreover, that same correspondence stated that the Sustainable Communities Plan, announced in February 2003, gives a commitment to maintain or increase the area of Green Belt land in every English region, including those regions containing growth areas.

All of those parties who have been invited to speak at the meeting on Thursday appear to be intent on attacking our green spaces which are of vital importance to ensure a 'sustainable' community. Local residents, meanwhile, are powerless to respond.

We would, therefore, request, that an examination of the aforementioned scoping reports is removed from the agenda in order to restore public confidence in due process.

Yours sincerely

Gill Cannon
Clerk to the Council

cc Mr R Evans, Director of Planning