Like many local organisations, SOS has been forced into hibernation during the COVID pandemic. Since many of us could be described as ‘seniors’ and have underlying health problems, we have suspended all activities. Regrettably, some have been/are seriously unwell which has put additional problems.
Obviously we have been unable to organise any events to reduce the outstanding debts which still stand at approximately £36,000 However, we are still in existence and hope to revive in due course.
Meanwhile, any donations to help reduce our deficit would be very welcome. Cheques should be made out to ‘SaveOurStOsyth‘ and posted to our treasurer at No 1 The Bury, St Osyth, Essex CO16 8NY. If you wish to have a receipt, please leave contact details.
The local planning environment has improved lately with the Local Authority now able to claim adequate housing provision over a five year period. However, the national situation is not looking good with the Government’s plan to ‘deregulate the planning system’ which would result in many more homes being built in rural areas which has been referred to by protesters as a ‘developers’ charter’. It would seriously curtail individuals’ or organisations ability to comment on or oppose developers’ planning applications. A decision on this is expected soon and there is a hope that the Government will abandon this proposal.
The prestigious countryside charity CPRE have been campaigning hard to oppose this plan and their latest information is reproduced below:.
The government’s damaging changes to planning were set to bulldoze nature and our democracy.
The plans to carve up neighbourhoods and greenspaces into zones – where a community’s say over what gets built no longer exists – amounted to a top-down developers’ charter.
But today’s headlines show that this nightmare might just be over.
It started with the front page of The Times. But since then, coverage has spread including reports in the Daily Mail [2] and The Guardian [3] – the latter showing the huge win this would be for the countryside.
The local CPRE website – www.cpressex.org.uk – is worth a look.