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Poll will make voices heard
I CHAIRED the public meeting at the Phoenix Centre regarding the marina and referendum because I, town councillor Steve Tubb, believe in the statement 'making your voices heard'.
I have personally delivered the results of that meeting to Daventry District Council.
Local decisions should be made by local people, the people they affect, so now is your chance to vote. I am totally behind the residents and the referendum for Daventry - there is nothing in it for me, simply the town where I live and that I care about.
All I hope now is Daventry electors come out and vote at that referendum, whether they want or don't want the canal and marina.
I am not a member of any political party and this is my personal view.
Steve Tubb
Town councillor
Referendum will save us money
I WOULD like to clear up any misunderstanding between myself and Robert Walduck (Letters, Daventry Express, March 4).
Mr Walduck is of no relation to me whatsoever. I hope that this will clarify any confusion between the two of us.
With certain people saying the referendum is a waste of taxpayers' money I would like to point out that hundreds of thousands of pounds have so far been spent on consultancy fees for the marina and pods, and more money will be spent in the coming years.
The referendum will cost roughly 6,000, so if 6,000 people vote it will work out to 1 per person.
Is that value for money for consulting the town's population?
I believe that our money would be better spent on a state-of-the-art swimming pool that will be a valuable education centre for future generations. We also need entertainment like a cinema and bolwing alleys.
In rely to Councillor Alan Hills' letter regarding future vision and evolution of Daventry. (Daventry Express, March 4) I would like to point out that a canal is a 300-year-old transport system!
If I was a businessman moving to Daventry with a young family knowing there was to be a canal/marina in the town centre, I would move elsewhere.
I keep asking the same question - why won't the good retail/entertainment companies come to Daventry?
With the referendum date to be announced imminently I urge the people of Daventry to vote no to the motion 'do you support the district council's plans to build a canal/marina in the town?'
Bob Waldock
New Hall
Daventry
Canal boaters are not 'posh'
IT APPEARS that the people have forced Daventry District Council (DDC) into a referendum over the proposed canal arm, I do not understand what the real aim is.
It is certainly not so that just a few 'posh' boat owners have a few more miles of water to cruise on.
You have got the term 'posh' wrong too. I can assure he or she who made that comment that the large majority of canal enthusiasts are very ordinary down to earth people who choose to spend their leisure time and money on the canals, just as others attend football matches, go fishing, on caravanning holidays abroad or the many other leisure pursuits available today.
In reply to Mr Waldock I would ask him if saying that the hundreds of popular canalside pubs around the country are a danger to the public who visit them, because they might fall into the canal? (Daventry Express, February 18)These are the pubs that are thriving in this age when many village pubs are closing.
I am sure you will find more people are in danger from the roads as they leave the pubs, than they are from the water.
The only people likely to vote in a referendum will be those misinformed about the project, who have a negative attitude, and cannot see what it has to offer. The result will not reflect the true advantages of the development to the town.
However, I very much doubt that in the present financial climate that any developer will take on such an ambitious project as the WaterSpace.
But please Councillor Millar and DDC, don't let the sceptics with their negative attitude force you into abandonment forever.
At least keep it on the table, for better times will come for a development of this magnitude, and market forces will determine when that time is right.
George Pearson
Weedon
The majority are against marina
WELL what an amazing turnout for the public meeting, with an overwhelming majority voting to hold a referendum on yes or no to a canal/marina.
In total 158 people attended the meeting, which considering it was a Friday night, horrible weather and the school holidays, was a really good turnout.
The DDC consultation only had about the same number of responses and they massaged the figures to say that around 60 per cent were in favour of the canal/marina if they included the 'I don't know' comments.
If the public meeting was a percentage, it would've been 98 per cent against.
I believe spending around 6,000 on a referendum is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, I dread to think what it has cost DDC on the boat lift design and the consultation itself. Perhaps someone from DDC would furnish their electors with a breakdown of the costs please.
All that remains now is for the people of Daventry to stand up and be counted, whichever way you are going to vote.
Once the plans are passed that will be it and you will have to live with it or move away.
This town always seems to have a very apathetic nature when it comes to elections, etc. (Can't change anything in this town, the pods is a classic example of that, although DDC says it is just on hold).
If you want to potentially make a difference get down to your polling station and have your say.
Charlotte Rivers
Via email
District council is out of touch
COUNCILLOR Millar and Daventry District Council have the same arrogant attitude that many councillors and councils seem to have, where by they think they know better than their residents.
If Cllr Millar is so adamant that the marina is a good idea he should have a proper consultation involving all of Daventry, not just rely on 148 responses.
UKIP believe in more local referendums for important issues such as this but councils are afraid of real dialogue because the majority may not agree.
This idea has come fast on the heels of the pod scheme, another hare-brained scheme, and to my mind is not properly thought out.
I have 15 years experience in local government and know how out of touch district councils can get.
I hope Bob Waldock keeps up the good work.
Jim Broomfield
Prospective parlimentary candidate UKIP Daventry
Consultations just glitzy PR
COUNCILLOR Alan Hills' citing of 'consultations' is misleading. (Letters, Daventry Express, March 4)
The various consultations over Daventry's growth have been partial exercises or developers' glitzy PR events, or both.
They have all had one thing in common - designed not to ask the main question, do you want all this growth for Daventry or not?
Full marks to the current referendum campaign. Win or lose, this is the only honest way to ascertain what people want for their town, not local politicians with their many agendas.
We need growth for local needs only, not on precious greenfield land, and not because the Government of the day is fixated on prosperity in the south east.
Scarce resources for regeneration should be going to the truly deprived parts of the country, where brownfield land is in plentiful supply.
All the good things Cllr Hills talks about should be the aim of normal good local government planning as part of long-term natural growth. They should not be contingent on a forced doubling of the population.
Ian Dexter
Areas secretary, STOP the Over-Development of Northamptonshire
Time to set the record straight
I WRITE as an employee of Charles Jackson's and a long standing resident of the local area in response to the numerous letters printed regarding the plans for additional grain storage at Long Buckby as I feel compelled to voice an opinion 'from the other side of the fence'.
First, I would like to point out that if the application was actually read by some of your readers they would see that the proposed increase in traffic is not likely to be anywhere near the doubling that Mr Price is suggesting (Daventry Express, February 4). In fact the increase is minimal.
With regard to the 'gigantic electricity plant' and 'convoy of huge wagons' Mr Price is obviously misinformed again.
An environmentally friendly biomass electricity generation plant could be housed in a modestly sized agricultural building and the straw would most probably be delivered on tractors and trailers which form an integral part of the farming community that Mr Price and all other local residents have chosen to live in.
There are no attempts to inflict pain on the public, just attempts for a local business to make good economic sense of its activities and respond to the demand from local producers.
I will not go into the ins and outs of how much grain an articulated lorry can carry but I will go as far as to say the figures quoted by Mr Whiffin (Daventry Express, February 4) are wildly inaccurate for both grain and straw.
I am also slightly perplexed by Mrs Wilson's comments (Daventry Express, February 25). During the winter, autumn and spring the land is prepared, crops are sown and tended to, and then in summer the busiest time of year for the agricultural indusry begins – harvest. This may go some way towards explaining the lower volumes of traffic at the current time of year.
I would like to question whether Mrs Wilson uses any roads other than the road between Long Buckby and the A5. I drive on many roads in the local area and have certainly noticed deterioration in all roads over the frosty winter.
The small amount of spilt grain is, I'm afraid, the nature of the beast, but the fact is grain and straw must be grown and must be stored in order to feed the population.
Another point worthy of mention is that there is a large volume of traffic passing through the village or delivering to village businesses that is not associated with Charles Jackson and Co Ltd.
I would like to ask Mr Semler (Daventry Express, February 25) how exactly generating electricity from renewable sources is only 'pretending' be eco-friendly. By its own definition this has to be eco-friendly.
Also I would argue that the current grain store is the most suitable location for expansion. Surely better here than setting up additional buildings and infrastructure in the middle of an industrial area in Daventry as suggested by some.
I am shocked by the narrow minded, selfish views of some of the local residents. These activities must take place, we must feed and fuel our nation and quite frankly this nimby approach is neither helpful nor constructive.
Kate Gardner
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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