Eco Town news

31st January 2008

A press release (see the Eco Town Documents link) has been circulated to the following aviation magazines; Pilot, Go Flying, Flyer, Flypast, Loop and Aeroplane. Hopefully this will raise our profile within the aviation community and help add pressure on the Government.

A petition against the Pennbury Eco Town is now available at reception. Sign it – your vote counts.

A public meeting is to be held at the Billsdon Coplow Centre at 7:30pm on Friday 1^st February.

There will be a demonstration outside the Houghton Co-op on 2^nd Feb at 11:00am. We need as many people as possible there to create an ‘impact’, with banners if possible.

Letter from Kevin Feltham (28th May 2008)

Dear campaigners

After last Saturday's very successful Heritage walks and rally at Great Stretton, the next two Saturdays will be very different (see below). A series of consultations and exhibitions will start from 9th June for a couple of weeks so plenty of opportunities for you and your friends to ask questions and seek answers.

A series of local authority public consultation events and Co-op exhibitions are due to start from 9th June starting with a County Council consultation event, with both Co-op and CASCET (Simon Galton) speaking, at 8pm at Gartree High School, in Oadby. Another similar County Council consultation meeting (Kevin Feltham speaking) is at 8pm on 12th June in the Billesdon Coplow Centre.

Then there are Co-op exhibition events between 11am and 8pm on 10th (Three Swans, Market Harborough), 11th (Parklands, Oadby), 13th (Marquee, Gartree Road), 14th (Marquee, Gartree Road) and 16th (Leicester Tigers ground) .

Finally Harborough DC are running round-table discussion events on 16th (Marquee, Gartree Road), 17th (Bath Hotel, Shearsby) and 18th (Three Swans, Market Harborough) at varying times during day and evening (HDC TalkBack leaflet being delivered to households this week), and Oadby & Wigston BC are holding their follow-up consultation at 7.30pm on 18th June at Parklands.

BBC Radio Leicester are holding a Big Debate on the Eco-town at Thurnby Village Hall at 6.30pm on 17th June. Panel of 4 expected to include me (CASCET), MP, Co-op rep. and Government rep. plus 30 campaign supporters and 30 eco-town supporters. It will be on the radio but will be all ticket attendance I am afraid. After tickets for Committee members, there may be some left over, so I will send around another plea if we still have some left over in a week or so.

Support for the campaign takes many forms, so we hope you find something from these events where you can actively support us.

Saturday 7th June from 11 am until 2 pm
Iliffe Park Funday A fun event for all the family on Iliffe Park in Oadby
Free admission
Refreshments available
Bouncy castle, crafts, exhibitions, information, climbing wall, fire service, salsa, hand massage, raffle ..........
A partnership event by; The Friends of Iliffe Park, Voluntary Action for Oadby & Wigston. The Police, Oadby Library, Sunflower Radio, Oadby & Wigston Borough Council, Langmoor Primary School

Anne Bond has arranged for CASCET to have a stand (setup time 10.30am). The CASCET stand at the Stoughton Village Fete a couple of weeks ago was very well attended, so I'm sure there will be interest. If you can help in any way to be on a rota to help handout leaflets, collect petition signatures, then please contact Anne directly - a.a.r.bond@btinternet.com

Saturday 14th June - Co-op Exhibition in Marquee on "Christmas Company" site at Leicester Airport on Gartree Road

The exhibition event is due to run from 11am to 8pm. Two aspects to our campaign:

a) Visit to talk to the Co-op representatives, ask questions and make your views known directly to Co-op. The Co-op are seeking views from people without actually providing any real details for any of us to comment on about their own plans and ideas. At this stage, the line to take is to ask them for details of their plans for the housing, schools, roads, health facilities, shops, flood prevention, habitat preservation etc. before you can comment.

Campaign song

The words for Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi were given to me last Friday - see for yourself their relevance to our campaign:

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Should it become one of our campaign theme tunes?

Regards,

Kevin Feltham (Dr)
Leicestershire County Councillor - Gartree Division
Chairman of CASCET: Campaign Against the Stoughton Co-op Eco Town
Mobile: 07771 967323
Website: www.save-england.net
Email: kfeltham@leics.gov.uk Skype: kfeltham
P Please consider the environment before printing this email

Airfield development

On March 5th, 2008 Simon Palmer (not verified) says:

I first visited Leicester East, as it was then known, for a Popular Flying Association rally many years ago. I have visited quite a few times since, especially when the Air races were held. Each time I have been there I have had a friendly reception and the club embodies the "Flying for Fun" attitude that is sadly lacking at many airfields. I do hope the developers can be made to see sense and not destroy this valuable leisure facility.

Eco Town

On March 17th, 2008 Gary Burnett (not verified) says:

I first visited Leicester as an Air Cadet in 1969, earning a flight in a C172 for a day's traffic marshalling at the club's annual airshow.As I'd been at the far end of the field I never got to see the entrance, and when I turned up for my free flight, I went to the by-now-closed gate. Time was rushing on, so I ended up walking across one of the Co-Op's fields with my bike on my back. It was rather muddy to say the least, and I hid at the back so that the soon-to-be CFI Joe couldn't see my clumpy clogs! I joined the club and spent all of my savings on flying lessons, cycling to the club every weekend and cleaning planes for flights. I was en-route to the field on Gartree Road, sheltering under a tree from golf-ball sized hail stones that summer when a storm hit the airfield, overturning aircraft, and causing such damage. That flight did it for me, and to this day I keep up my PPL here as a member of Lancs Aero Club in Manchester. Leicester's airfield is a special place, rather unique in size and ambience, and too valuable to be lost to housing. Once a field is closed it can never be replaced. We don't need to be ripping up more of the countryside; we need to maximise our land resource use. Immigrants like to come to this country for our quality of life, free of fear and fighting. So why do we then do our level best to reduce that quality by destroying our countryside, paving over green fields, clogging up our road and sewer systems that can barely cope now? Because of sheer unalloyed greed, that's why. Its where I first saw the Red Arrows, my first Spitfire, Concorde, flour bombing and flew in a beautiful Stampe. Keep the field, keep Leicester special, keep it open!!

Saving Leicester Airport and common sense

On March 2nd, 2008 David Ockleton (not verified) says:

I first visited Leicester Airport in 1978, when I learned to fly as an RAF Flying Scholar. A lifetime of flying later and many airfields visited, Leicester Airport remains one of the best airfield locations I have visited - worldwide. It has significant history and it provides an important and diminishing service to the county. The proposal to build a town may appear to be sound, but look at the issue holistically. Once the airfield is gone, its gone. The town has not been built; it has no history, no provenance, no ambience, nothing. It can go anywhere, the airfield cannot. I am surprised the Coop, with their background and enthusiam to be seen to be doing the right thing, are keen to look at the issue with such tight fitting blinkers. Time for the Company to take them off and look at the situation as a whole. Eco town, yes great - BUT NOT ON THIS SITE!!!!

Saving Leicester Airport

On March 1st, 2008 Steve Broughton (not verified) says:

It would be a great shame if this icon of Leicstershire was lost. I've spent many relaxing hours watching aircraft taking off or landing, purely as a hobby. Not only is it a place for leisure flying, but it is a thriving place for businesses based there........doe the Co-op really want to destroy jobs, to make a fast buck. Lets not forget "Leicester East's" role during WWII. Many brave men left this airfield........never to return, and in doing so, gave us the freedom we take for granted today. To lose this site to a supposed "Eco Town" would be a terrible loss to the county. All the best, Steve Broughton Anstey, Leics

Leicester Airfield's Hope for Remembrance

On March 4th, 2008 PEEWEE (not verified) says:

Perhaps with the passing of those brave veterans from WW11 the COOP may need a timely reminder from the Leicester locals of the significance of keeping such memories visible. Publicity bears the greatest pressure! Is there a Memorial built somewhere on your Airfield to show its historic involvement with those men? Perhaps now is the time... some small hangar museum ?? Such areas would not be allowed to be tampered with in Australia, no doubt its the same for you. Heritage listings and the sacredness of such sites would prevent even the notion of such irreversible "Eco" action. You may need to revive a little "active remembering" for your "LEST WE FORGET" Maybe your Airfield can become a shrine to those who went before .....and you may save more than memories along the way Bests ...from an interested Gallipoli veteran's grand daughter downunder.... a friend of one of your coolest high-fliers !

Pennbury Eco Town

On March 1st, 2008 Visitor Roy Monk (not verified) says:

As I have been an Oadby Resident for over 50 years I have watched the devolopment of Stoughton Aerodrome with enthusiastic interest. When I was a lad, I even flew model aircraft there with Leicester Model Aero Club.Upon hearing about the government inspired so called Eco town I could not stop laughing, but very soon realised that it would most likely spell the death knell of our area as we know it!I personally object to Jack-Boot tactics & fear for our countryside and our nation as a whole. What we really want to do is to reduce our over populated land by some 15 to 20million souls...End of problem!! Both my wife & I will be signing your petition against this ludicrous proposal.

Keep Leicester Airfield

On February 23rd, 2008 Mick Parsons (not verified) says:

Living in Bournemouth, I don't visit the airfield as much as I would like. But when I do (twice a year) I always get a friendly reception. How can anybody agree to spoil such a smashing piece of countryside and also destroy the pastimesc and jobs of so many people. Don't give up, we must save the airfield.

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