We are planning to hold another demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall on Tuesday 8 February at 6.00pm, calling for a halt to plans to develop Maidenhead Golf Course with over 2,000 homes.
Calling for the rejection of the Borough Local Plan
The demonstration will again ask Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead councillors to reject the environmentally damaging Borough Local Plan when it comes to council for adoption, as its approval will give permission to develop this Green Belt land. The council meeting has been confirmed for 8 February at 7pm at The Holiday Inn.
This Green Belt land is owned by the people of Maidenhead and we want it protected
In 1953 Maidenhead’s Mayor, Cllr T.A. Stuchberry bought the golf club land, of which around 40 per cent is woodland. The action was ‘To prevent this land falling into the hands of those less concerned about its future than local people’. The land was then offered to the council, who took the same view that this land was scheduled as open space, and that public ownership was the best way of ensuring that it remained an open space.
The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead plans to develop the 132-acre Maidenhead Golf course site with over 2,000 new homes. The Council’s Borough Local Plan (BLP) is currently being reviewed by the planning inspector, but is expected to come before council sometime in February.
We are hoping our demonstration will remind local councillors of the importance of protecting the town’s green lung, and the strength of feeling there is in the Maidenhead community that the protection of greenspace and the environment must come first.
Our council still isn’t listening to residents’ concerns for our environment
Tina Quadrino, one of the leading members of the Maidenhead Great Park campaign group, explains:
“Following our two previous demonstrations on 23 November and 14 December, where hundreds of local people joined us to ask our councillors to reject the environmentally damaging local plan, our council continues to ignore the need to protect our local environment, so we are again calling on local people to gather outside Maidenhead Town Hall on Tuesday 8 February.
“Many local people are utterly dismayed with this plan, which despite the fact we are in a climate emergency, will see the destruction of publicly owned greenspace, including thousands of trees. So much development has already taken place in our town centre, with over 6,000 new homes built or given planning permission since 2013. Many of these are flats and people need access to more greenspace for their physical and mental health and wellbeing, not less.
Our council is using out of date projections on housing need to justify the development
“Our council is using out of date figures for housing need in our area to justify the destruction of our greenspace. They say there’s nowhere else to build, but any new development should be focused on brownfield sites and there are plenty available in our borough.
“By rejecting the Borough Local Plan, councillors will put a stop to plans to concreting over this green belt land in our town centre, protecting woodlands, biodiversity, public amenity and our green lung all in one go.”
“At this next demonstration, we will be launching our new petition and our Go Fund me campaign to raise money for the legal and environmental expertise we need to ensure this vital greenspace is protected for future generations.”
Other ways to support our campaign
Councillors: When you declared a Climate Emergency in RBWM, what did you think it meant?
A) Taking immediate action to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases?
or
B) Carrying on as before?