Standing up for Dunmow

I DON'T know if Mr Deller has been at any of the meetings at which I have spoken on the issue of where Uttlesford should site the 4000 houses required by the Government. But I can assure him that I am standing up for, and will continue to stand up for, Dunmow's interests.

Although most of the recent discussion has been about the proposal for Elsenham, Uttlesford also has three other options still on the table for consultation.

All of these propose 1000 new houses for Dunmow, and in one case over 2000. I have argued strongly these options are as unacceptable as the Elsenham option, because the infrastructure is not in place.

The Tory council's position seems to be that we decide where the housing should go first, and worry about the infrastructure later.

The LibDem contention is we need to know what new infrastructure is required, and what can be realistically achieved, before we can decide whether any option is the right one for the district.

Failure to take such an approach will lead to a repeat of the mistakes made over Woodlands Park and Oakwood Park, where promised community benefits have still not been delivered years after the developments commenced.

Locating a large number of houses along the A120 corridor in and around Dunmow, where there are no rail links, will just force total dependence on the car for transport and increase our carbon footprint.

My view is that none of the four options on the table are acceptable. There are other alternatives where there are both good rail and good road links.

But the council needs to look at the impact on local infrastructure before deciding what is the best option.

I will continue to stand up for Dunmow and the wider Uttlesford community in resisting options that are flawed and ill-considered.

Cllr Mark Gayler

Member of UDC for Great Dunmow North