LETTER: No benefits for the community

Cllr Helena Croft, who is deputy leader and councillor for Roffey North, was reported in your paper as saying at the council meeting on the Proposed Strategy (30 April 2014): ‘I cannot stop the development and regretfully supporting the plan puts me in a better position to minimise the impacts and maximise the benefits.’

Well Cllr Croft’s judgement once again was spectacularly wrong. Cllr Croft voted to open up our 30 year old Strategic Gap, or local Green Belt, and now on top of the 2,500 homes she gave the green light to, the Inspector has told her and her cabinet colleagues to find space for another 2,000 more homes(24.12.14).

The behavioural evidence supports the view that Cllr Croft did not want to stop the development, putting loyalty to her leader Cllr Dawe above the wishes of her electorate. If Cllrs Croft, Rae and Cornell had all voted against this flawed plan as their electorate wanted them to do the vote might have gone the other way.

And as to ‘maximising the benefits’ from the development, what community benefit was Cllr Croft talking about?

There aren’t any! HDC proposed to charge Liberty only £50 per sq m for Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the other developers £125. But then two months after the vote in April 2014 that figure was reduced to zero!

So much for Cllr Jim Rae intending to make Liberty ‘bleed’, his promise which he posted on his Facebook page after the controversial vote. Cllr Rae’s drivel was endorsed by Cllr Roy Cornell (Roffey South) with similar such remarks.

R. BAKER

New Moorhead Drive, Horsham