www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Please see the note below and sign up!

Eagle Star (Zurich) have been trying to develop a new town, the size of Andover, on unspoilt virgin land in mid-Hampshire at Micheldever, for the best part of 20 years. This is attractive and productive farmland and the last truly 'rural' stretch of open country between London and Southampton. It will be 4 minutes by car from the (current) edge of Basingstoke, and 5 minutes from Winchester.

All the arguments for and against building on these green fields have been thoroughly examined, by both local authorities and independent examiners, so there is no need to debate them again. Every single democratically-accountable planning body, from parish, to district, to county council have exhaustively reviewed this proposal and rejected it - many times. There has also been, at great cost, an inquiry in public. By rights the proposal should be dead and buried, with no hope of being resurrected, ever. But Eagle Star/ Zurich, driven by the prospect of almost unimaginable profit, continue to use their financial muscle to try to thwart the democratic process and ram this universally unwanted proposal down the throats of all of us, INCLUDING YOU (I trust), who think there should be some framework of law which cannot simply be bypassed on the whim of a remote Prime Minister seeking electoral gain for himself and his party.

The excuse for the current round of Eagle Star lobbying is Gordon Brown's half-baked 'eco-towns' initiative. If he and his political pals succumb to Eagle Star's blandishments he will simply direct that - planning laws and processes notwithstanding - the development will go ahead, immediately and without further discussion.

The decision is due to be made within weeks.

If you feel that it should not be possible for central government to arbitrarily set aside the legal process involved in planning please go to the 'Number 10' website and sign the petition against Eagle Star's Micheldever New town and please urgently ask as many as possible of your friends to do the same.

Here is the link to the petition.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Micheldever/

The Labour Government really is on a mission to destroy both the British countryside, rural communities and the British agricultural industry.

The government has exhibited time and again a total disregard for the environment in this country, for biodiversity, for the scientific community, and for anyone who lives beyond the visible horizon from Westminster. If this development goes ahead I shall probably just give up and move abroad.

Looks like this will be another kick in the nakkers for the democratic process too.

Oh yes... Done!

Done.

Done

Done!

done.

britons awake !!

Done

Done

Gruditch

There is already plans to build on farm land to the east side of Andover, these are two seperate projects of 4000 homes each. and this will be only 7 or 8 miles away from the proposed new town.

Gruditch

Also signed.

Done

Our PM hasn't been voted in by the public & I would be very suprised if he ever does!... so it doesn't really matter to him what he does, does it....... ( I'm still keeping fingers crossed there will ever be another election!!)

Done!

Denise

I'm done,lets hope Micheldever doesn't.

Cheers

Colin

Thanks for drawing our attention to this, Pete. Petition signed.

Guy

Done (more in hope than expectation!)
Alex

There is already plans to build on farm land to the east side of Andover, these are two seperate projects of 4000 homes each. and this will be only 7 or 8 miles away from the proposed new town.

As the government crushes the agricultural industry in this country so agricultural land becomes less valuable. More and more farms are simply closing and the land is falling out of agricultural use.

When land looses it's agricultural value there is little economic use left for it apart from housing. This is a scenario we are going to have to get used to...

Felix.

There isn't only Micheldevers in Hampshire - I am sure you all know that there are others planned - here in Derbyshire I have heard plans for two new towns.
The government has apparently stated that it needs to build homes for 10 million people in the next 10-15 years (allegedley for new arrivals to the UK) thus our population will be around the 75 million mark. You know where they are going to build!!
They also have given committments for biodiversity, protection of wildlife etc - surely the two areas are incompatible.
I suspect that we just need better controls on numbers of people settling in the UK and also better care and management of the rich countryside and wildlife that we have at the moment.
I would love to move abroad (one of the butterfly rich areas of Southern France is especially appealing!) but that would seem like running away! However it is very difficult to see what we can achieve to aid conservation when it seems that Government, developers etc are hell bent on destroying what we have left.
Anyone have any ideas or is it "last one out turn off the lights!"

George wrote:I would love to move abroad (one of the butterfly rich areas of Southern France is especially appealing!) but that would seem like running away!

I'm not sure running away would help anyway. The curse of development is not endemic to the UK. Many important butterfly populations in southern Spain are seriously threatened by development there and here in idyllic Switzerland I have seen my own mountain ruined by chalets popping up like mushrooms. My morning walk is now blighted by enormous 4x4s pumping gas up and down to unnecessary second homes - I am the only person who insists on doing the journey by bike, not surprisingly!!

The only thing I can see that will really help is if this becomes an election issue, along with immigration and that famous referendum. I realise that UK Butterflies members are likely to come in all political colours and not all will want the Tories or UKIP to take power, but this must at least be brought into the foreground of politics - before it is too late (is it already too late?).

Guy

How would it be if Pete wrote a carefully worded letter to the Times, on behalf of UK Butterflies? And if the Times won't take it, send it to the Torygraph, and if they don't the Grauniad or Independent?

Guy

Feel free to craft something Guy

Or at least let's agree on the main points we'd like to get across such as whether we're fighting this particular new town, or one of the other 30 or so proposals on the table Apparently, this list will be consolidated into 7 or 8 almost-certainties by the end of the month (another being near Stratford-upon-Avon).

Cheers,

- Pete

OK - I'll have a bash, though I work late tonight and I can't guarantee it will be today!

Most papers have an exclusivity clause for letters so I don't know if we could publish it openly on the web before sending. But when we have something we could private message it to anyone who wanted to see or contribute before it went out in our name.

Guy