The
Battle for Baxters Field.
Reader, I
do solemnly and humbly beg your forgiveness and understanding for my
insufficient abilities and haphazard attempt to convey to you my
thoughts and feelings relating to the proposed development on land
known locally as 'Baxters Field'. My words may seem laced and
poisoned with bitterness, even defeat, but alas I fear it is
weariness that infects them.
Though a
year or more may have passed, it feels only yesterday I addressed the
good citizens of this county and our council representatives to
thwart attempts to pave another green field of our treasured valley.
On that
occasion, we succeeded. Since then, Westminster, in its wisdom, has
repealed planning restrictions that have existed since the 1960's on
land designated AONB's (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). But I
ask you, what part of this Earth that man has not yet soiled, or the
scars on the land he has abandoned and neglected that Nature is
attempting to heal is not
an AONB!? How is one more deserving of a safe guard than the other?
If not all the valued green can be shielded then perhaps Westminster
is, in a twisted way, correct in their logic that none should be!
When it comes to any area deemed 'desirable' to live, the present
inhabitants are resisting any and all forms of attempts to construct
more homes. As is and has been the case with the Slad Valley.
But I do not believe we need to. What are we saying 'No' to?
Are we averse to our fellow man?
Is it that those who have paid/ are in debt by substantial sums of
money for their exclusive properties far from the town and suburbs
keen to keep him at arms length. Out of sight and therefore out of
mind.
Is it yet another case of 'not in my backyard'? If the sons and
daughters of Stroud are not to be housed here, then where?
What exactly is it that we are protecting? Is it a true irrevocable
physical asset, enjoyed by and shared with the community as a whole,
something that directly benefits all by its existence and continued
preservation? A spiritual aspect of, or attachment to the land? The
Gold Crested Newt?
Or is it an idea of a world long gone, written about and captured by
a talented poet now dead?
Perhaps the preservation of a view you enjoy once or twice a
day/week/month/year, as you exercise your pet or glance out from your
window?
Swifts Hill is a vantage point from where, on a clear day, the
perceiver can see out as far as the Malvern Hills. What a splendid
and awe inspiring sight it is too. That is of course once you raise
your gaze from the past permitted development and destruction that
constitutes the town we call Stroud. The unmistakeable and grotesque
structure of the Police Station, the Rivita crusted flats of
Nouncells Cross, bitter, disgusting relics of bygone architectural
tastes standing near to the modern, glittering visual interruptions
of Merrywalks, the Cinema and the blazing white sides of the College.
Each and all stealing focus, soiling the perfection of what existed
prior to all.
Flanking these megaliths and monoliths sprawl hundreds of terraces of
thousands of homes. Each addition, encroaching on someone else. He
who cries out the loudest, who wails and gnashes his teeth at the
mere suggestion of change, a proposal, the idea, survives with the
view from his window intact, for now.
We are told we must accept developments such as the proposed, for
there is a shortage, a national crisis and all must bear his share of
the burden.
How is it then that there is a housing shortage and yet the property
section of the same newspapers that print such a claim and windows of
the many local estate agents are brimming with offerings?
Are we being mislead perchance?
Is the day at hand when the employed yet homeless buyer will be
turned away for lack of stock? Is this policy just a ruse to avert an
impending demise of the smartly attired, smooth talking estate agent?
Once again, we are hearing this phrase 'affordable housing'. Yet
despite the many developments that have gained council consent and
been completed these past years, all with the same promise, I have
yet to see nor find one. Let us explore what exactly 'affordable
housing' is;
I define 'affordable' as being an expense that does not force the
purchaser into any form of debt. I am open to correction on this,
nay, I invite it in the
hopes my search for the aforementioned may finally bear fruit.
As things stand for the majority, what is affordable varies greatly
from person to person and appears dependant upon;
- When and where in the country you were born,
- How much you have accrued in your life in physical possessions and monetary assets,
- Career/ Field of Expertise,
- Luck,
- Family,
- And finally, how long its been since you were paid!
At the time of writing, an affordable house for me would cost no more
than £1.34. Come Friday, that may change to £645.97. Probably 80%
of the worlds population exist in traditional structures the West
would label 'eco' for at least £600 less!
Allegedly, affordable housing is being built for those who cannot
currently afford them. I know scant few individuals, even couples,
who can muster £100,000 (the minimum I expect these houses to cost)
without assistance from some financial body or institution.
If these structures are indeed intended to house those currently
without shelter, I feel it is worthy of note that probably the
majority of those objecting to their construction are presently
suitably and comfortably housed.
Development, whatever form it takes, is rarely entertained where
there is an existing, flourishing enterprise or concern. The proposed
sites in the Slad Valley, have been and are, examples of the current
and national unsustainable agricultural model and equally
unprofitable for its owners.
Income from grazing horses and livestock and the leasing of green
fields for such purposes must pale in comparison when one considers
the sums proffered by the likes of Gladman Developers when they smell
the whiff of a quick profit. I can certainly understand the
incentives and how they appear to such owners in this broken and
flawed monetary system.
Let us not forget what existed prior to fields and land clearance and
what would exist if nature were only allowed; the most ecologically
diverse and treasured of all habitats, Woodland.
I have put forward many questions and highlighted issues as I see
them;
What are my answers, and more importantly for credibility's sake,
what are my qualifications?
Three years ago, I and my little family abandoned adequate rented
accommodation that was a 3 bedroomed end terraced house. We sought a
life closer to this environment we see, read about and on occasion
fight for, yet so few of us experience outside of the occasional walk
on a sunny day.
We wished not to glimpse this beauty between work routines, rather to
immerse ourselves fully, to bath and invigorate our souls in its
font. My partner and I were also dissatisfied with labouring 40 hours
a week separated from those we love, only to still struggle to meet
our bills and outgoings, the biggest of which being rent. We dared
ask the question, is there another way? How did our ancestors manage
successfully for all those millennia?
It was in the preparation for this adventure that inspired not one,
but five books, that I stumbled on a truly affordable home; A
touring caravan bought for £150! Later, we graduated to a static
caravan for £900. At the time I felt like a property mogul, my good
friend and his partner were at the time struggling to finance the
purchase of their first home and there I was with two!
Then, we were volunteering in Pembrokeshire at Lammas, aiding the
residents in constructing their hand built low impact homes from
local, natural materials. They have successfully secured planning
permission from Pembrokeshire County Council after a protracted
struggle. Despite being so close to the national park, they have also
gained the support of the majority of the local population who,
though once opposed, have come to see the merits of such a solution
to the housing need.
I witnessed people construct and house themselves in dwellings that
cost them a fraction of the alternative, shelters that outperformed
the orthodox, houses that blended with their surroundings both
visually and materially.
I remember asking myself, as I gazed in awe at the achievements
manifesting around me why the heck Stroud was not hosting such
initiatives?!
To just declare “NO” to this and other sites of interest to
developers who will wish to build carbon copy, inefficient,
overpriced yet cheap and unsightly chicken coops with postage stamp
gardens is to mount our thrones upon the shore of a persistent and
strengthening tide, praying each time that this will not be the one
that wets our feet. Let us not be Canutes, let us be Christs and turn
this water into wine.
If
we place our trust in our democratically elected leaders, if we
accept that there may truly be a housing crisis and it is not just
another ploy to coax economic growth and revenue to benefit the few
at the cost of the many, then I say that Stroud must stipulate and
propose what exactly it will
accept.
With this in mind, I would suggest the following as constructive,
positive alternatives to what needn't be a threat nor curse. A way to
harness what could potentially be a blessing rather than a burden. We
need not be alone in the formulation of this, I have met most capable
and willing individuals upon my travels, who possess not only the
experience and creativity but importantly, the motivation; Simon
Dale, Tony Wrench, Paul Wimbush, Simon Fairlie and Mark Boyle to name
but a few.
A special planning vehicle similar to the One Planet Development
(4.15), TAN 6 (July 2010) policy that exists in Wales could be one
avenue. This sort of policy could grant this legion of 'houseless'
folk a means to design and construct low impact, natural homes,
sympathetic to the environment themselves.
Small hamlets of self reliant, productive smallholdings that will
invariably experience surplus and will therefore utilise Strouds
thriving Farmers market not to mention trade with the surrounding
communities and population.
It may mean comparatively little stamp duty will be raised, probably
less revenue through planning permission fees, less profit will mean
less tax, a terrible and undesirable option from a government and
capitalist perspective. Yet I foresee the future benefits and
pay-offs of such a course to be immeasurable in monetary terms in its
boost to the town, to the spirit and to the quality of life
inhabitants of such dwellings would experience.
Ironically such a step forward would, in actuality, be a step back to
how I believe England and its villages used to be!
In the Battle for Baxters Field, I feel there need not be a loser,
both sides may be granted a 'victory', a positive result if dialogue,
co-operation and negotiation is entertained and entered into that
involves all interested.
The kernel, the heart of the issue
we are tackling, is not as I see it what is, nor will be, on
Baxters Field rather it is what underlies
Baxters Field and the fear that proposed development inspires.
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