TADPOLE FARM FINALLY APPROVED - OAKHURST RESIDENTS KEPT IN THE DARK

On the 11^th September 2012 ORA learned from a twitter account hosted by a consultant involved in the Tadpole Farm application that the s.106 agreement had been signed off by all parties concerned.  At lunch time we were able to print off the signed agreement from the Council’s website.  It was outrageous that no-one had contacted the residents of Oakhurst to let them know what was happening.
 
According to sources in the media the local councillors were already spinning this issue or unavailable for comment.

ORA had to print off scores of pages from the Council’s planning portal to drill into the detail.  However, after much drilling the residents of Oakhurst will be disappointed to learn that there is no ground-breaking, earth-shaking improvement to what the original agreement said.

ORA’s interpretation is that there is nothing new to tell you from three months of negotiations.

Residents didn’t want Tadpole Farm to go ahead without the promised infrastructure.  They didn’t need clarification that the amounts of money promised are wholly inadequate.  The argument has never been about when money should be spent.  It’s always been that no amount of money can protect our local road from being turned into a major rat-run.  We firmly believe that promises made about the Northern Development Area have been broken.

The residents of Oakhurst wanted their elected representatives to do their job and look after their home.  When Cllr Toby Elliott proposed Tadpole Farm for approval, supported by other councillors, surely he had a plan in mind to do the job of representing the best interests of Oakhurst people.

We learn that it was Cllr Tomlinson from the St Andrews ward who led the negotiations with the developer.  Why did Cllrs Elliott, Faramarzi and Edwards allow the Oakhurst residents to suffer an irrevocable blow to their quality of life and the safety and education of their children?

ORA have made it clear that their families should be educated locally not in the giant catchment of the Northern Sector.  The opportunity for Cllrs Elliott and Tomlinson to stop this ridiculous situation has been lost forever as they have accepted that the new school doesn’t have to be built until the 565^th home has been occupied.  We believe that Oakhurst children are, on average, travelling further to school than in the south.  The catchment area for our local primary school is now less than 500 metres.

When the local councillors supported the approval of the Tadpole Farm development at Planning Committee on 12^th June 2012, against their pre-election promises to the residents, ORA believed that they had seen one of the biggest u-turns in the history of local government.  However, we are staggered that they have eclipsed their own u-turn by signing an agreement that seals the fate of our Oakhurst lifestyle.