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Chairman's Report
The past year has brought a transformation in the economy, of which members will not need to be reminded. It has created a hundred financial experts who can explain why it occurred for every one expert who predicted it. Without belittling its impacts (and most of us have seen a decline in savings and property values), the economic downturn has brought some glimmer of a more equable balance between developers and conservers. For example, rising house prices, car sales and air travel, used as levers to justify
more houses, roads and runways, have taken a sharp downturn, and their decline raises questions about how soon and how far they will recover when no longer sustained by readily-available loans.
The housing review has continued to be our main concern. We are indeed fortunate that our two colleagues in the Regional Group, Gerald Kells and Peter Langley, have maintained their commitment to drafting and re-drafting our arguments during the consultation phase and in readiness for the imminent Examination in Public (EiP). We have assisted in this process and our comments have been incorporated in the Regional responses. Some of us will also attend the EiP on those days in
June when the inspector will examine the Worcestershire proposals.
The Government may have `shot itself in the foot' by delaying the EiP by nearly a year in order to carry out its own housing survey. Had the EiP taken place last summer, before the magnitude of the financial implosion became apparent, the Inspector would probably have accepted the 365,600 houses proposed by the WMRA. Since then, housing construction has sharply declined and the cost of reinvigorating the construction industry has greatly increased. It has also become recognised that providing the
infrastructure for the large housing estates proposed (including those near Worcester) will incur greater funding than is likely to be forthcoming. Hence the Inspector might consider the Government's revised target of 415,000 to 445,000 dwellings to be unachievable and might settle for something nearer the original 365,600 proposal. (Even this is considered too high by CPRE: we are proposing 285,000 as the maximum that can be achieved without causing excessive damage to the countryside).
Other than the housing debate, the main controversial application has
been for a windfarm, comprising ten large wind turbines, on the Lenches near Evesham. Our views on the proposal are detailed in this Newsletter.
The District groups continue to function with the bare minimum of active officers. None came forward to organise an AGM in Wychavon for the first time in ten years, but one is now being arranged by the Bromsgrove group which I hope will be well supported.
The Branch AGM in June will be the last attended by Lord Sandys as President. His nominated successor, David Binnian, is one of the few people in Worcestershire who has planted more trees than Lord Sandys. We are very pleased that Lord Sandys has accepted the post of Honorary Vice President, the first opportunity CPRE Worcestershire has had to make this appointment.
Frank Hill
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