Ford eco-town: Rousing speeches at Yapton rally

The four speakers had their words interrupted by bouts of applause as they summed up the fight against the large development of 5,000 homes.

The field next to the platform at the King George V playing field is one of those under threat from the sea of concrete if the proposal is approved.

Adventurer and TV presenter Ben Fogle said the purpose of last Saturday'sgathering and march was to speak up for such fields across the 900 acres which could be lost to the eco-town.

"We are here to stand up for our green fields which, sadly, have no voice. The word eco is simply being used to make us feel guilty for opposing it and the government to feel guilt-free for imposing it.

"We can see right through this. It's not green. It's whiter than white. It's a con," he stated. "This is some of the most productive land in one of the most built-up counties in England. Traffic is already double the national average."

He grew up in Ford 30 years ago, where his parents still live, before he embarked on a life which has seen him combine presenting TV programmes such as Countryfile and Animal Park as well as rowing the Atlantic ocean.

Yapton resident Terry Knott is the co-chairman of the Communities Against Ford Eco-Town campaign group which organised the rally and walk.

He opened the event by pointing out the current development proposals were merely the latest in a series which stretched back to 2000.

"All that the developers have done is to give it a coat of green paint," he said.

"We have said no, no. no. We have said '“ good idea, wrong location."

But he pointed out that some development in the area was inevitable. West Sussex had been earmarked to take 58,000 extra homes up to 2026.

All those present agreed the sites for that housing should be decided by local councillors and not by the government in the form of housing minister Caroline Flint. She has chosen Ford among the 15 potential locations for ten eco-towns. She is expected to name the final sites this October. Some of the towns could be built by 2016 and the others by 2020.

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP Nick Gibb said: "Our purpose today is to send a very clear message to Caroline Flint and the government that we are not prepared to tolerate this level of development completely outside the democratic process which has been established over decades to decide where houses are to be built.

"We have to fight these proposals as hard as we can. Otherwise, we will never recover this beautiful landscape."

He warned the precedent of building around Ford would cause all the other villages to be seen as potential development sites.

Nick Herbert, MP for Arundel and South Downs, closed the 30 minutes of speeches by pointing out the eco-town would be three times the size of nearby Arundel.

He provoked the image of his grandfather, who flew from Tangmere airfield in the Battle of Britain.

"We are here to fight for that great British thing '“ democracy and local democracy," he stressed as he accused the government of becoming arrogant with power.

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