I’ve been writing these editorials for quite a while now and maybe its time for a fresh hand at the keyboard and some new ideas. For instance, I wonder about the idea of ‘guest editorials’ from interesting people round the Parish?
In this issue we are fully testing the idea of developing the Newsletter via our new website. (www,taplowsociety.org.uk) This is an important step in that it means that if anybody has an interesting idea for entry in the Newsletter then they can simply input it themselves to the website. The editor can then examine this material and extract the meaty stuff for the Newsletter which will become a printed snapshot of ongoing Parish life. We would like you all to look at our website on a regular basis and post information as well as articles on it which might be of general interest to us all. It would be great if it could become a forum for exchange of information.
There is an article within which summarizes the South East Plan which has been prepared by our new Regional Assembly planners. We are informed that this will be the
only statutory backing for the Government’s four designated growth areas, three of which are in our Region. The Government has produced a consultative document called “Culture at the Heart of Regeneration” (Such wonderful titles!) which states: “The planning system exists to ensure that there is a fair balance between the benefits to developers and the benefits to society”.
You have to ask yourselves what this means. Does it mean that developers are outside society and its Us against Them? or does it mean that aspect of society represented by the planners? What about you and me? It is worth noting that at a meeting of the Chiltern Society I attended fully half of those present did not have knowledge of the ‘Your Shout’ pamphlet which was supposed to elicit our opinion about the Plan - or at least the number of houses they wish to inflict on us. I have a copy of it but the questionnaire seems to boil down to “Do you prefer us to build 25,000 or 35,000 houses a year
for a twenty year period and where do you think we should build them?” Some choice! The actual number required by the existing population is estimated to be approx 17,000 - 18,000 per year.
In the above context Crossrail makes its appearance as a provision of the transport infrastructure for all the planned increase in economic activity and immigration in the South. Its a bold and interesting idea (see brief article) but it could have significant effects on Taplow including, for instance, the Brunel Bridge being graced with electric pylons, a structure in line for a World Heritage Site ranking.
The Taplow Parish Plan is in its final stages at the moment of writing and by the time you read this it will be with the Planning Office. The work in producing this plan has been considerable and involved many volunteers from around the Parish and steered by John Kennedy. Special mention must be made of Bernard and Mary Trevallion who pulled the whole thing together to produce what is undoubtedly the very first definition of our parish environment together with an analysis of what a significant proportion of us wish to see happen to it in the future. The Parish owes them a debt of gratitude.
The Cliveden battle trundles on with a Public Inquiry to be held in August. There has, I gather, been much behind the scenes maneuvering to avoid the expense (and exposure) of such an inspection, like the latest offering of a 170 houses instead of 191. Watch this space.
