Pre-Inquiry Meeting at Brighton Town Hall

[Gritt23]

Re: Re: Re: Pre-Inquiry Meeting at Brighton Town Hall

1. Yes. Proofs of evidence have to be submitted by 7 January. And a "Statement of Common Ground" has to be prepared by 17 December - that's a joint statement by the major parties of matters they agree are not contentious. Hopefully it will include stuff like "Brighton Station isn't available".

Cheers Lord B, excellent informative stuff as usual.

Quick question, really just a confirmation of the above point I guess.

IF, there no-one feels able to state a case for a particular site - I'm thinking Brighton Station, and Shoreham Harbour in particular - would we therefore find this out on the 7th January? So in effect, once the "Statement of Common Ground" has been issued, the 7 alternative sites may well have been cut to say 5, as all parties 'agree that Brighton Station and Shoreham Harbour are not viable sites.'

Is it possible that in fact having looked into it, and been unable to argue the faults of Falmer due to the focus given to this inquiry, the opponents come to the same conclusion as the Football Club. Namely, that NONE of the 7 alternatives provide a viable option. In which case the only evidence the inquiry would have to hear is any 'rabbits' that may be pulled out of hats.

In your opinion Lord B, which is the alternative site that could offer the best case for being viable?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Without going into great detail, I would simply commend Bart, Spiros and Gritt23 for having got their thinking in tune with the way the Inquiry is being planned.

It seems to me that the Club have got all avenues covered.

As to Gritt23's final question, I expect we'll hear a lot at the Inquiry about Sheepcote Valley. This site is the one that was being pushed by Lewes District Council last year and I guess it's where they are throwing their £35,000 now.

It was good to see a presence from the Friends of Sheepcote Valley at yesterday's meeting. We may have to adjust our thinking about NIMBYs. Some of them are now on our side.

 

[The Auditor]

Without going into great detail, I would simply commend Bart, Spiros and Gritt23 for having got their thinking in tune with the way the Inquiry is being planned.

It seems to me that the Club have got all avenues covered.

As to Gritt23's final question, I expect we'll hear a lot at the Inquiry about Sheepcote Valley. This site is the one that was being pushed by Lewes District Council last year and I guess it's where they are throwing their £35,000 now.

It was good to see a presence from the Friends of Sheepcote Valley at yesterday's meeting. We may have to adjust our thinking about NIMBYs. Some of them are now on our side.

Lord B : The parks Wild & Preston are a red herring then and a review of all "large" sites undertaken?
I feel much more positive about Falmer than when I joined this site a few weeks ago

 

[perseus]

It is the Wryneck, one of the rare birds that flies through Sheepcote Valley every year. Sheepcote should be included in the National Park (if you don't think the whole idea of a NP is a waste of time).

 

[Gritt23]

Finally Lord B, am I being overly optimistic in thinking that the findings of the Inquiry are likely to be as black and white as to say
"It is the opinion of the Inquiry that there is no viable alternative to be found ..."

In which case, I would hope that the turnaround time for the ODPM to be much shorter than it was after the last Inquiry. However, how long will the Inspector take from the end of the Inquiry, before he issues his findings?

Is it reasonable to think that his report could follow within a month of the conclusion to the Inquiry, taking us to the end of March. The ODPM could then conceivably respond within a fortnight, if the findings are clear, meaning we have permission for the middle of April.

My concern is that any later than that and we could well be in the run-up to a General Election, which would probably cause a delay to any decision until the summer.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The Inspector has six weeks from the end of the Inquiry to deliver his report to the ODPM.

If the Inquiry ends on 22 February, that means by 5 April.

IF the general election is on the same date as the English local government elections (5 May), the convention that no Government decisions are announced within four weeks of a general election means that we will NOT get a decision before the election.

But the date of the general election is by no means certain. There seems to be a growing view that Blair is more likely to wait until later in the year. In which case we could reasonably hope for a decision in May.

 

[b.w.2.]

I just wanted to thank LB once again for his fantastic knowledge and writings on this long, long saga...

 

[Dover]

I firmly belive that Falmer is the only site, as per the evidence that I have seen and read.

I do have one worry, albeit paraniod. I do wonder if Sheepcote Valley is being pepared for some development. I walk there most days with a fellow Albionite, and we have noticed that the rabbit population is virtually nil. The local rumor is that they have been gassed due to disease. Also all the grass has been cut. at this time of year i would have thought the grass would have died off with the change in the weather.

With these two sets of action, the moving of the travellers and the imient closing of Stanley Deason/East Brighton College of Media and Arts, is Sheepcote becoming more of a possibility.

I for one hope not. Sheepcote feels more like an ANOB than the noisy racetrack known as Falmer.

 

[perseus]

Unlike Falmer, Sheepcote is a public open space (as is Waterhall) and there would be considerable public opposition (could go to European law) to converting such land into private enterprise schemes (or even community benefit schemes for a different group of users).

Grassland is either grazed by rabbits (warrens) or sheep etc. (pasture) or is meadowland and is cut for hay or just put into big piles to rot (if it contains ragwort). The diversity of wild plants is meant to be maintained this way.

Or grassland can be parkland with football pictures etc. Or golf courses (but this is often a ruse for dumping).

Land can be inferior from a biodiversity point of view and the downland turf can already have been ploughed up for farmland. This is Falmer.

Toad's Hole would always be the other choice within the Brighton & Hove area, because it is not public land, but it has already been effectively (although not officially) zoned for other commercial uses. Therefore, the land will be prohibitively expensive and it would too expensive because of the road junctions, and the transport conditions may be difficult to comply with. So it is not a real goer at all. The landowners are just going to point blank refuse to sell their land. First question the Inspector will ask. Do the landowners agree? No. End of case.

 

[London Irish]

Is that Perseus' first objectively pro-Falmer post?

I think we will win the inquiry hands down because the terms of reference are so loaded in our favour (thanks John).

But I can't honestly see the general election being delayed - Labour is in a strong position and there is no reason to delay what will be a straightforward win, Blair would be foolish to hold on and allow events to undermine him.

But I think people should not go overboard in frustration at another delay, it could set things back a couple of months maybe but JP's ODPM advisers will still be safely returned even if the man himself is moved on. And frankly there is not a lot of noise about that either, hard to see where else you could put a Deputy PM.

 

[mona]

It was good to see a presence from the Friends of Sheepcote Valley at yesterday's meeting. We may have to adjust our thinking about NIMBYs. Some of them are now on our side.

Who are these people then?
caravanners
landfill site junkies
whitehawk fc fans
lidl regulars
girls from roedean
east brighton golf club?
we need to know

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The Friends of Sheepcote Valley are listed as a "Community Group" on the website of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV).

They work with the City Council to restore the valley's flora and encourage birds and other wildlife back after the closure of the landfill site. In 2001, they worked with Same Sky to carve a white hawk in Sheetcote Valley. They have been involved in campaigning about the proposals for sewage treatment in the area and the establishment of the National Park.