Take Part In The Consultation

Make Surrey County Council know how you feel by contributing to the consultation process here.

Message From Melanie

Following Friday's fantastic meeting, Councillor Melanie Longden wanted to send a message to local residents:

Thank you to everyone who helped organise the meeting. It was encouraging that so many local residents attended and that the debate was wide-ranging and at times, fairly heated! Obviously, this issue is of great concern to all the householders in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site, and this was reflected in the questions that were raised.

The comments made by the two County Councillors who attended the meeting were interesting. Many people have asked why Doman Road is being considered as a Preferred Waste Site by Surrey County Council. We know that when the site was looked at initially, Surrey County Council stated that it wasn’t big enough to go forward as a suitable site. It is only since December that additional land has been made available. Thanks to Councillor Chris Pitt, who advised us that the land is owned by Surrey Heath Borough Council, and so we can assume that is our local council who have made the additional land available. Not only has Surrey County Council failed to consult residents about the future of the site, but Surrey Heath Borough Council has offered up the land to make it possible!

This explains why we were given verbal assurances that the site won’t be used for an incinerator, but no assurance that Doman Road won’t go forward as a ‘Preferred Site’. It would seem that Surrey Heath Borough Council has agreed that this site should be used for increased waste disposal purposes, but has failed to consult with local residents who may be adversely affected. We must make it clearly understood that ‘St Michael’s is Not a Dustbin’. We are seeking a reduction of such activities in this part of the Borough, not an increase. It seems that the quality of our environment is to be sacrificed yet again, to protect the residential amenity of other wards. The only way that we can safeguard ourselves against this outcome is to continue to object to Doman Road being included on the ‘Preferred Site’ list. I hope residents won’t be lulled into a false sense of security by any denials and assurances that are issued – when the local newspaper reported this story there was an outright denial that the site had been offered up. Three months later, and we’re fighting to get off the list.

The petition objecting to the proposals got off to a good start at the meeting on Friday, with 78 new signatures. Thank you to the people who have volunteered to help with the campaign, and will be taking the petition door-to-door. If you would like to help, or want more information, please contact us.

Website news

This website has been going for one week now, and I thought you would all be interested to know that more than 130 people have accessed it. That is 130 individuals - not hits. We have had more than 300 hits. Please, if you are concerned about this matter, tell you neighbours, encourage them to come and have a look too.

Take Part In The Consultation

Make Surrey County Council know how you feel by contributing to the consultation process here.

Under Attack Again

Once again this board has come under attack by a repeat poster. This afternoon five comments appeared in as many minutes. Four of them were actually identical (come on guys, if you are going to try to sabotage the board, at least try and make look like there is more than one of you out there).

Once again I can reveal that all these messages came from the same computer. Once again the person posting does not feel the need to reveal their name. I have already stated that anyone is welcome to come and engage with the discussion area on this board - it is called Internet democracy. These multiple posts make their authors looks ignorant, boorish, aggressive and unwilling to engage with local residents on substantive issues.

In the interests of free speech, I am not going to remove the posts, but I will delete duplicate comments. I hope that this solution is one with which genuine users of the board, whatever their views, are satisfied with.

This is your message board

As some of you might have noticed, a few comments have recently appeared on this board, critical of the approach we are taking. I felt they deserved a direct response. Two comments appeared on the Welcome post, whilst one appeared on the Thank You post, all attributed to "Anonymous". The last of these comments said:

Th meeting was told that there would be no incinerator at Doman Road. Why have you not mentioned that fact? [The typo was in the original comment - I wanted to reproduce it as it was originally displayed].

To start with, the comment is just plain wrong. We are campaigning to ensure that Doman Road is not put on the preferred waste management site list. As John Shelton, Surrey County Council's Waste Local Plans Project Manager, said in an email to Councillor Melanie Longden sent on the 21st March that "if the site were to be included in the Waste Plan, it would be possible that it could be for a thermal treatment site". To argue otherwise is nonsense.

However, I feel there is something else that I need to point out about these three comments. In the interest of a fair debate, it is important that readers of this website know that these comments all came from the same person. I know this because of the data logged on the computer which holds this website. The individual concerned seems to have systematically been trying to give the impression (by commenting multiple times) that residents are in favour of the proposal.

We are committed to the principle that this board is a community resource to encourage free and fair debate - because we believe that genuinely concerned residents (whatever their views) have a right to be heard. But we also believe that if someone is systematically setting out to sabotage a community's discussion space with comments to promote and disproportionately represent their own views, you have a right to know about it.

I would also like to make one last thing clear. We respect the right of our commentors to remain anonymous and welcome comments both from those who wish to be named and those who do not. However, you have to ask why someone who clearly feels so strongly about this issue wants to remain behind the cloak of anonymity? Just what interests do they represent?

Thank You

Thanks to local residents, last night's meeting was a huge success. About seventy people came to the Baptist Church Hall on the Frimley Road - it was literally standing room only! The message from residents to the representatives of Surrey County Council present was clear - people don't want an incinerator and they don't want to be on the preferred waste sites list.

In the comments section of an earlier post, it was asked how people who couldn't attend the meeting could sign the petition. If anyone hasn't signed the petition and would like to, please get in touch with me via email and we will ensure to arrange a way for you to do so and make your voice heard. Also, if you would like to get a flavour for some of things that were said at the meeting, you can hear Councillor Melanie Longden's opening address here.

Also remember that you have until 10th April to take part in Surrey County Council's consultation. You can do this on paper through a freepost form (again contact me if you would like a copy) or via Surrey County Council's consultation website.

Also, please remember that this website is a community resource and is your space - please use the comment section, encourage your neighbours to visit, or contact me if you have any comments or suggestions for how we could improve the information and opportunities it offers.

Missed the Meeting?

If you couldn't make it to tonight's meeting, we created a Podcast of Councillor Melanie Longden's opening address.



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A Message From Councillor Melanie Longden

Councillor Melanie Longden wrote this message to appear on the blog. Melanie wanted to outline what she think are the significant issues raised by the plans for Doman Road:

Residents in St Michael’s ward face a new challenge – the prospect of a waste incinerator on the current sewage works in Doman Road.

Surrey County Council has responsibility for devising a waste disposal strategy and has been consulting residents about various sites, including one just outside Chobham on a disused mushroom farm. Last December, at a public meeting arranged by Chobham residents opposed to the scheme, Surrey Heath Councillor Mrs Vivienne Chapman suggested Doman Road as a possible alternative site. It now seems that the mushroom farm has been dopped as a likely site, and Doman Road has found its way on to the list.

If Doman Road is adopted as one of the ‘preferred sites’, Surrey County Council may decide that it is a suitable place for a waste incinerator. The County web site makes it very clear that incineration is regarded as the only viable long-term solution to waste disposal, and while many may agree with this argument, most of us would agree that to propose a site within 400 metres of a densely populated residential community is unacceptable.

County Councillors have denied that the site will be used for an incineration plant, but on Friday 10^th March, I spoke to Mr John Shelton, Waste Plan Manager for Surrey County Council. I asked him if an incinerator would be built on the site and he told me that if it is adopted as a preferred site, the County Council would look at all waste options, ‘including an incinerator’.

The challenge for residents is to make their views known to the County Council before April 10^th 2006. I am appalled that there is no obligation for the County to consult with local residents at this stage, we could be a ‘preferred site’ before residents know anything about the plans. I’m upset that the County Councillors are so anxious to deny that this could happen, when one phone call was all it took for me to establish that this isn’t scaremongering, but a reality. Because we’ve been added to the list of potential sites at such a late stage, there’s very little time to give residents the information they need to make their views known to Surrey County Council.

I hope that residents will come to the meeting on 24^th March, the best way forward is for us to try and make sure that as many people as possible know about the plans as quickly as possible. At least that way they have a chance to make representations before a decision is made.

Find Out More And Have Your Say

Come to a resident's meeting on the potential waste incinerator at Doman Road, Camberley.

Friday 24th March, 7:30 pm,
Baptist Church, Frimley Road.

Contribute To The Consultation

Make Surrey County Council know how you feel by contributing to the consultation process here.

Media Coverage

The Camberley News ran the story of the potential Doman Road incinerator this week.

Things You Can Do

If you are worried about the proposal for Doman Road, there are a number of things you can do:

• Attend the public meeting being organised by Councillor Melanie Longdon at the Baptist Church, Frimley Road at 7:30 on Friday 24th March.
  
• Sign the petition to oppose the proposal.
• Take part in Surrey Council's consultation on the proposal and tell the council why you think it is a bad idea. You can do this either on paper (email Melanie, and we will ensure you get a form) or online, here.
  
• Tell your neighbours and make sure they know what might be happening.
  

Obviously, we would also like your comments and feedback on this website. Can you think of anything else we can do?

Welcome

Welcome to this new weblog. This site was built to ensure that residents in St Michael's Ward, Camberley, get to have their say on decisions currently being taken which will have the potential to have a dramatic impact on their quality of life.

Although very few residents are currently aware of it, Surrey Heath County Council is currently consulting on whether to turn Doman Road into what they term "a site for waste development". In practice, this means the site could be used for almost anything in the future, including the construction of a waste incinerator. Furthermore, if waste development status is granted now, future facilities could be built with a minimum level of public consultation.

It is vital that as many people as possible tell the council why they don't want Doman Road to be considered for the construction of waste disposal facilities in the future. Councillor Melanie Longden, who represents the citizens St. Michael's Ward on Surrey Heath Borough Council, has drawn up a petition for residents who wish oppose the area near their homes being made a waste site. A public meeting to ensure residents are informed about the issue has also been organised.

Public Meeting - Friday 24th March
7:30 pm
Baptist Church, Frimley Road
Camberley

The consultation period is very short - it only runs until 10th April. It is therefore vital that you act as quickly as possible to make your voice heard. If you have any questions about this website or the proposals, please do not hesistate to contact us.