Not deceived

MESSRS Hall, Dixon and Penfold really must be very naïve if they think we are taken in by their seemingly altruistic protestations (Gazette letters, July 23) about the results of the Ford Eco-Town saga, especially now the government has said such a development is both unsustainable and undeliverable.

Apparently, they cannot even accept that we all already know the real reason why they invented the Ford Enterprise Hub (FEH) concept, but one has only to look at the website of the Villages Action Group to see where this all started.

It says: "The Villages Action Group (VAG) was originally formed to fight proposals for large-scale development of greenfield sites around the village of Westergate in 2003 that were being promoted as part of the West Sussex Structure Plan."

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In April, 2003, a member of the VAG said Ford was a sensible alternative, and in May, 2003, the VAG set up a committee with the objective of ensuring the development took place on a brownfield site, such as Ford Airfield.

Subsequently, the VAG claimed in June, 2003, that the West Sussex Structure Plan was about to be amended to widen the area of search to include Ford. This was reinforced at the West Sussex County Council strategic environmental and public safety services select committee meeting on June 25, 2003, when the then county councillor for Fontwell, Harold Hall, requested that Ford be included and the area extended to the west from Ford.

It was therefore something more than a coincidence when councillors Hall, Dixon and Penfold announced to the joint downland committee on October 24, 2004, details of their proposal for what they called the Ford Enterprise Hub. This, according to them, was an "outline planning concept designed to address transport issues in the west of Arun district and related land use issues". As a result, they claimed, "Ford will attract new business with better-paid jobs, meet housing need for the foreseeable future, solve numerous road traffic problems and provide a new transport hub".

The concept was based on Councillor Hall's false contention that the whole of Ford Airfield was a brownfield site.

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So, do not be taken in by the cries of "shame" being directed at Arun District Council and those who opposed both the FEH and Ford Eco-Town development proposals. The only reason that Messrs Hall, Dixon and Penfold jumped onto the Ford Eco-Town band wagon was to promote their intention of avoiding development in the Aldingbourne area, and it is good to see that the government has now found their proposals to be unacceptable.

Derek Waller

Surrey Wharf

Arundel

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