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27 June 2001
Re Germany Beck development
Thank you very much for the detailed and relevant information you sent on 19th. It is much appreciated. I have shown the plans to some civil engineers working nearby but they were unable to give me a clear idea of the amount of disturbance there would be to the land on the route of the access road because the data is incomplete. Would it be possible to ask the developers to provide more details of the earthwork they plan and the amount of excavation. Have they produced a 3D model or computer simulation of the area? Could they be asked to provide this or at least a visual of the before and after of their proposed access route?
I would also like to see some study of the likely traffic flow onto the A19. My fear is that if they do build this access, the developers will be back to ask for permission to change the junction to a roundabout to handle the flow, further devastating the battlefield site. At my meeting with Persimmon I suggested that the access should run form the northern roundabout by the ring-road into the centre of the development. The advantages of this layout include:
 | Less disruption to the A19 when the link is made |
| Less construction and subsequent traffic on the stretch from the roundabout to the proposed access |
| It would provide a further bias towards public transport and cycles as the route for private cards to town would be longer. |
| Less traffic in transit inside the development as the access would be central. |
| It would be a long term solution as the existing roundabout appears to have the capacity to handle substantial volumes of traffic. |
| It would not disrupt the existing access to Fordlands Road housing and the cemetery or the nearby housing. |
My concerns about the data missing from the Environmental Statement, which I mentioned in my previous letter, should be solved as I have been promised the information by the developer's archaeological consultants. I believe that when they eventually send it to me I will be able to show that the assertions derived from their desk study about the site of the battle are wrong. If this is so, what is the correct procedure to make them amend their Statements?
(This information was never provided and I went to the Local Ombudsman to force COTC to let me see one of the reports.)
I have a nagging worry that the developers will find some procedure to develop this access road ahead of planning approval for the whole scheme. Can you reassure me that there is no legal procedure by which they could build this road without formal approval and public debate?
Yours sincerely
Charles Jones