We all recall the frenzy of activity of late 2010 following the publication of the “shaping our place 2026” document together with the accompanying housing strategy, and inner relief road proposals; indeed it was the opposition to these that created the impetus for the “HereForHereford“ movement.
We remember the campaign to highlight the folly of these proposals, to increase public awareness of the implications for our environment if the proposals were left unchallenged .
Who could forget the public meeting at Trinity School attended by the senior council officers responsible for the proposals together with Councillor Jarvis the cabinet member with responsibility for pushing them through? Who can forget the look on the faces of those individuals as they recognised that they faced well informed, passionate and organised opposition? Their approach was found wanting and ill-considered – they looked shell shocked as they scurried back to their trenches to consider their tactics .
Well, retreat they may have; they even shelved the plans in order “to consult further”; they even went off to draft the wording of a referendum on the “inner relief road” element and to think about who should be allowed to vote in this referendum, but the one thing they have not done is surrender!
They will return! Although Councillor Jarvis has moved on to become council leader, the officers remain in post, the core strategy has not changed and we might reasonably expect them to return to the front soon with new tactics but the same core plan– so be aware!
We will soon need to rekindle that fighting spirit , we will need to demonstrate why it is inappropriate to build 5000 to 7000 thousand houses on the western side of the City, why it is not sustainable and how the plan is predicated on a flawed prospectus.
