Watts the Truth?

The campaign to safeguard Watts Meadow and surrounding areas from Conservative Councillors and their building developer colleagues is moving at pace.

A petition to the local community is due shortly highlighting the history of Watts Meadow and the Tory U-turns

Did you know for instance that

1. In 2002, Medway Conservatives claimed to be concerned with protecting green spaces in Rochester and joined moves to take Copperfield old allotments site and Watt's old flower nursery out of housing local plan.

However after 2002 elections Copperfield was amazingly put back onto the housing plan and sold for £5,000,000. The Tories rubber stamped the development of153 dwellings.

At that time no development of Watts because council found an inconvenient truth. That the site owners had left the land in protected trust.

2. In 2004, Tory council bought out the convenant from Watt's charity to allow access and sold the land. Plans for Watt's showed 24 dwellings. Housing plots in this part of Rochester worth £100 - 200,000, site worth £2,000.000 to £4,000,000. A huge local protest was more or less ignored.

3. The Open Spaces Society expressed concern with footpaths in Rochester One of the footpaths that needed to be protected by designation on to the "definitive footpaths" map was this footpath through Watt's meadow.

Except there has been no action for years on the issue despite a great deal of action by OPS. How interesting given the current development!

4. Without any consultation Medway Council built a set of concrete steps at end of Southfield "for better access to Watt's Meadow".

5. This year the fence around the building site went up without any warning to local people reducing access to Watts meadow.

Builders were allowed to use part of Watt's Meadow to build soakways for the houses and this meant that the Fence was extended well into the public area of Watt' Meadow with no consultation and again no warning.

6. Today we still have no clarification on public accessibility on the site and we have incorrect legal notices being put up.

It is clear that Rochester Conservatives have an agenda for the site which is not that of the local community.

Watts the Matter

The campaign to safeguard the Watts Meadow from land developers, backed by Tories, has stepped up as it became apparent that the Tory controlled Council has published incorrect notices of access on the Watts Meadow, a piece of land left to the people of Rochester in trust.

The Rochester Conservatives, who support the current administration in Gun Wharf, have allowed full development of housing next to the Watts Meadow, and as a result have cut access to this green lung. Dog walkers, elderly residents and parents now have restricted access to land that was left to the community and to be accessible.

Residents are in uproar as Rochester West Conservative candidates and Councillors have stayed almost silent on this major issue for the community. They have made no attempt to challenge the Tory administration publicly and have failed to comfort local residents about the safety of this piece of green space.

Indeed, it is only local independent campaigners and Labour candidates who have been challenging the Tories.

The lack of concern culminated in incorrect notices being placed on prominent display.

The notice (see picture), placed by the Council was a planning application for a high wall and gate at the entrance to Watt's meadow. It stated that,

'Medway Council has received a planning application for construction of wall and vehicular access gates to front of former Priestfields Nursery.'

Rochester West Labour candidates Derek Munton and Sarah Hehir drew this alarming development to the attention of residents who from the notice would interpret that Tories were restricting access to the Meadow on a permanent basis, against the interests of those who left it in Trust.

Labour candidate Sarah Hehir, who has been working hard in the ward led the opposition challenge against the Tory Council,

A pithy response was forthcoming:

'I hope I can provide some clarification to the situation... For your information, an incorrect site notice has been erected opposite the site, but unfortunately the poor weather has meant that I have been unable to affix a revised correct site notice. Hopefully if the snow clears over the weekend I'll be able to get a new one up at the start of next week.'

Given the campaign and the concern amongst thousands of Rochester residents it is a major error of judgement and Labour are demanding that Cllr Mark Reckless and Cllr Ted Baker start to take a grip on this issue which has been self-evidently badly handled. Incorrect legal notices on a piece of land of such a contentious nature is not sensible. It has left residents thinking, quite justifiably, that it is once again evidence of Tory management incompetence

Not taking into account that residents of Rochester are angry that Tories have rubber-stamped this building development and are restricting access, they have failed to effectively scrutinise the process.

Labour believe that the Rochester Conservatives have sold-out on the residents of Rochester by allowing rampant house-building in that part of Rochester. Great swathes of land adjacent to the site have been bulldozed with very little consultation with residents.

It is a slippery slope, something given the weather, and lack of grit, residents are all too aware of under this Conservative Council.

Incidentally, the plans for the wall look like a folly and Labour are opposing. It is a grandiose marketing tool for prestigious houses rather than an entrance to an area of natural beauty.

We need to work together as a community and protect our green spaces