Falmer from Argus today

[Firingblanks1]

I agree with Icy Gull for what it's worth.
I've always voted labour and could never imagine myself ever voting for anyone else, BUT..........
If a decision is delayed to after the general election I think Falmer is looking very doubtful.
Regardless of what you say, Labour (with it's three marginal seats) know what this decision means to sports fans of Brighton and Hove. If no decision is made on Falmer by the election I sure aint voting for them and I think a lot of Albion fans feel the same way as me!

 

[BALDISBEAUTIFUL]

I thought the Inspector was reporting back on the suitability or not of the other sites. Falmer has already been looked at, so Lewes and Falmer Councils have to put proove the other sites meet the criteria, as we have to proove they don't. If I were 2 Jags in order to gain votes I would say yes. To much of a gamble to leave it till after the election, as most people would think he is going to say no. But then I thought he agreed we need a stadium, so where will he give us?

 

[woodster]

does any one consider ivor caplins decision to stand down as a local mp at the next election strange?

it strikes me as odd timing. there he is a local labour mp on the up, very much involved within the party etc and involved at a time when the albion could finally be given the go ahead for a new stadium. would he not be seen as a local hero if he was involved in this procedure?

would you stand down if you perhaps realised that the decision or any delayed decision was going to be so potentially damaging to the local labour party?

perhaps i am being too cynical.

 

[Firingblanks1]

Yep, quite agree . Baldisbeautiful ..most of the sites are definately non starters, i.e. Brighton Station etc etc., so why should it take so long?
I have to say that the planning process has gone on long enough and I find it unbelievable that we are still talking about Falmer after all this time?
I live in Mile Oak opposite the old six form college with fantastic views over the Downs and sea etc.
Guess what? The council have just granted planning permission to build lots of houses on this land and building starts in two weeks...funny that! A strip of land that makes Falmer look like a tip.
However, try and build a stadium in an old field next to the A27 and it is a major crime, because of the local plan - common sense needs to prevail......Mr Prescott will have the power to make that decision - probably BEFORE the next election and he knows that Brighton & Hove have three marginal seats. You bet it is very likely to be a political decision.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Yep, quite agree . Baldisbeautiful ..most of the sites are definately non starters, i.e. Brighton Station etc etc., so why should it take so long?

For a start, because the opponents of Falmer, led by Lewes District Council and Falmer Parish Council, plan to take TEN DAYS of the Inquiry to put their cases for the other sites. And the opponents of the alternative sites want another FOUR DAYS. And the City Council want TWO DAYS. And the Albion need SIX DAYS to look after our interests.

Which means that an Inquiry originally planned to last for EIGHTEEN DAYS will inevitably over-run.

Mr Prescott will have the power to make that decision - probably BEFORE the next election

No he won't. If the Inquiry runs into mid-March, he won't receive the Inspector's Report until six weeks later - after the election has been called. And the Government isn't allowed to announce ANY major decisions during an election campaign.

 

[Brixtaan]

After which he'll be booted.The new man will want to chew it over properly for a year minimum.

 

[perseus]

Gnaaagh! Cavers, it's being made on planning, not political, grounds.

Major ministerial announcements are never made for a month before an election. it's convention.

It's not down to politicians how long it takes, it's down to civil servants. See the other thread about tax returns for an approximation of how efficient civil servants can be ....

When is it planning or political? What do politicians do but sift the evidence produced by the "experts".

It will not be decided until after any May election. I think this is mainly because Acts of Parliament are not passed a month or so before the Election because they would not have to be implemented by the new Government and the convention about Planning decisions follows the same sort of line.

What seems really peculiar about Falmer is the main objectors are the downs lobby including the Sussex Downs Conservation Board. Their Committee is made includes members of the Countryside Agency which seems to be a Government Agency answerable to a Minister, i.e. civil servants or something near as damn it.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

It will not be decided until after any May election. I think this is mainly because Acts of Parliament are not passed a month or so before the Election because they would not have to be implemented by the new Government and the convention about Planning decisions follows the same sort of line.

Jesus Horton. This is not an Act of Parliament we're talking about.

You claim to know about this stuff.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

What seems really peculiar about Falmer is the main objectors are the downs lobby including the Sussex Downs Conservation Board. Their Committee is made includes members of the Countryside Agency which seems to be a Government Agency answerable to a Minister, i.e. civil servants or something near as damn it.

You might think the Conservation Board are the "main objectors". They obviously don't. They've only asked for one-third of a day to present evidence to the Inquiry.

Lewes District Council want four days.

 

[perseus]

Sift the evidence. Like a sieve, I think.

After it is shaken about all the minor irrelevant dross falls through the sieve into the bin (with the help of the Civil Service) and the politicians are left with the important bits.

 

[London Irish]

None of this is new - we've discussed this on NSC many times. When the February inquiry date was set, it was clear there would be no decision by the General Election, the objectors would prolong the inquiry because the simple fact is that the mechanics of the democratic process at a planning inquiry allow them to easily do to so. Big surprise, then, that they took that option!

Despite this, I see no grounds for pessimism, the new guy in charge of the ministry once Prescott leaves will be brought up to speed pretty quickly by Prescott's special ministerial advisers who will be staying with the department. A quick decision will therefore follow after the General Election.

It's up to you if you want to punish Labour - but they are the only one of the main parties who have remained true to the Albion cause, so any Albion fan punishing them would be engaging in act of extraordinary stupidity in doing so.

The Liberal Democrats gave us Belotti and, even more importantly than that, are the main people now trying to destroy us through their leadership of Lewes DC, it's they who form the serious opposition to us at the inquiry.

The Tories never lifted a finger to help us save the Goldstone when they were in power in Hove and their hatred of football fans never changes to this day. Their councillors in Brighton Pavillion led the fight to stop us getting a temporary home in Withdean, and those same councillors in the Withdean and Patcham wards are now blocking our plans to get the extra 2,000 seats. The only reason why the Pavillion Tories want Falmer is to get rid of us from their backyard because they hate us being in Withdean. The Tories in the other Brighton seat, Kemptown, have just dumped their candidate because he was pro-stadium!

The Greens have been uniformly hostile to us and have stupidly tried to defend this patch of farmland at Falmer even though it might put at risk of development a real site of environmental importance at Sheepcote.

Not voting for Labour, whose record on supporting us at Withdean and over Falmer is perfect, will only reward all these other anti-Albion twats in the Lib Dem, Tories and Green parties.

That's your choice if you want to

 

[perseus]

Yep, quite agree . Baldisbeautiful ..most of the sites are definately non starters, i.e. Brighton Station etc etc., so why should it take so long?
I have to say that the planning process has gone on long enough and I find it unbelievable that we are still talking about Falmer after all this time?
I live in Mile Oak opposite the old six form college with fantastic views over the Downs and sea etc.
Guess what? The council have just granted planning permission to build lots of houses on this land and building starts in two weeks...funny that! A strip of land that makes Falmer look like a tip.
However, try and build a stadium in an old field next to the A27 and it is a major crime, because of the local plan - common sense needs to prevail......Mr Prescott will have the power to make that decision - probably BEFORE the next election and he knows that Brighton & Hove have three marginal seats. You bet it is very likely to be a political decision.

I share your opinions on the ridiculous behaviour of the objectors, for people like the Sussex Downs Conservation Board that are meant to be protecting the downs. There needs to be some perspective some sort of commonsense.

Where are these people going to work for Gawds sake? Might be a nice place to live near the downs, but it means a long drive to work.

Is Brighton & Hove the only city in England where more people actually leave the city to go to work than actually work in the city?

PS: My lack of enthusiasm over Falmer has got a lot to do with it being a tip. A stadium can only improve it though.

 

[Pevenseagull]

I'm jumping to conclusions but I like to:

let's say:

You are an MP who has strong links to the Albion.

You have clearly always been a true Brighton supporter.

In the early years of your political career being a fan was something that was pulled up by the media/party and promoted as something that made a lot of your constituency feel like you were 'one of them'

You love the club and wnat to see it go from strength to strength

and lets say

The political ideals that are were you very essence when you set out and had ideals that you believed could guide your fellow man to utopia have been subsumed, perverted and corrupted by an amporphous slime of self promoting, media obsessed, style over substance, blip-vert, soundbite bullshit

And you knew that, rather than upset the locals - your party were stalling over an issue in the pursuit of votes. Knowing that, if they portrayed themselves as being vaguely on everyone's side but at the same time using a local Lib Dem candidate to squeeze the tories they would maximise their vote.

And if you knew that there were people waged from the public purse who's job it was to play local issues to the maximum benefit of your party's vote share


wouldn't you announce that you were going to quit at the next election?




....................somebody tell me I'm paranoid

(to my face for once )

 

[perseus]

I'm jumping to conclusions but I like to:

let's say:

You are an MP who has strong links to the Albion.

You have clearly always been a true Brighton supporter.

In the early years of your political career being a fan was something that was pulled up by the media/party and promoted as something that made a lot of your constituency feel like you were 'one of them'

You love the club and wnat to see it go from strength to strength

and lets say

The political ideals that are were you very essence when you set out and had ideals that you believed could guide your fellow man to utopia have been subsumed, perverted and corrupted by an amporphous slime of self promoting, media obsessed, style over substance, blip-vert, soundbite bullshit

And you knew that, rather than upset the locals - your party were stalling over an issue in the pursuit of votes. Knowing that, if they portrayed themselves as being vaguely on everyone's side but at the same time using a local Lib Dem candidate to squeeze the tories they would maximise their vote.

And if you knew that there were people waged from the public purse who's job it was to play local issues to the maximum benefit of your party's vote share


wouldn't you announce that you were going to quit at the next election?




....................somebody tell me I'm paranoid

(to my face for once )

And his wife had another child which is growing up now?

 

[Pevenseagull]

South Downs - they seem a benign bunch


The everyday working people in conservation organisations are generally, a genuinely lovely bunch. Unfortunately as with all QUANGOS those in the decision making positions tend to be priveledged, indulged, plutocrats. Simply delighted by their stipend, detatched from the populous' grim reality and ready to drop into line with whatever BS their generous benfactors (the government- with OUR money) feed them with

common sense - we get falmer - years ago
reality - we've been screwed over by an ubsurd administration - a confederacy of parasites

WANKERS

 

[Pevenseagull]

And his wife had another child which is growing up now?

WHO'S WIFE!!

 

[ditchy]

does any one consider ivor caplins decision to stand down as a local mp at the next election strange?

it strikes me as odd timing. there he is a local labour mp on the up, very much involved within the party etc and involved at a time when the albion could finally be given the go ahead for a new stadium. would he not be seen as a local hero if he was involved in this procedure?

would you stand down if you perhaps realised that the decision or any delayed decision was going to be so potentially damaging to the local labour party?

perhaps i am being too cynical.

I cetainly am starting to think along those lines cynics unite ... hope im wrong

 

[Icy Gull]

.

That's your choice if you want to

Everything is either black or white with you though, isn't it? Never room for grey. Your blind faith in Labour and disdain of all other parties is just another example of it

 

[Curious Orange]

The question you really need to be asking is this. Will any political party be willing to risk the the ALMIGHTY stink we WILL cause should Falmer be rejected?

Of course my above point is only relevant if you believe the decision will be entirely a political one.

If you believe that the decision will be made by the civil servants in the ODPM based on the relevant planning policies and the remit of the reopened Inquiry then the point is irrelevant, as the likelihood is that answer will be yes, because NONE of the proposed alternative sites are more appropriate than Falmer.


(Thought it was worth saying again)

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

I'm jumping to conclusions but I like to:

let's say:

You are an MP who has strong links to the Albion.

You have clearly always been a true Brighton supporter.

...your majority is wafter thin.

...you made a lot of enemies among your electorate by vocally supporting an unpopular government decision to go to war illegally.

...you made some great contacts while a defence minister, some of whom have promised you lucrative consultancy work.

Wouldn't you quit at the next election?