WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MEREHAM?
East Cambridgeshire is facing one of the most significant Planning Inquiries it has ever known this October as local authorities, the public and businesses join together to fight the Mereham development.
Mereham, a proposed 5,000 home development between Stretham and Wilburton, is being opposed by East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council at the Planning Inspectorate Inquiry at the Arkenstall Centre in Haddenham starting on the 9th October.
To help inform the residents in the District about what Mereham means and why the Councils are fighting the development, the first Mereham newsletter is being issued full of information including:
- What Mereham is and how its size compares with Ely
- Information allowing residents to have their say
- Details on how to print off a 'Say no to Mereham' poster
- An update on how the District and County Council are working together to fight the development
Councillor Philip Read, Chairman of the Planning Committee, said: "There is no doubt that Mereham would be a disaster for East Cambridgeshire and the rest of the county. Its location is not sustainable in terms of the local economy, the environment and road safety. However, we have discovered that not everyone actually knows how the development would affect their lives or realise the developer is effectively proposing a new town the size of Ely.
"The developer proposes to build 5,000 new homes between Stretham and Wilburton but without any of the required infrastructure to properly support such a development. For example, they suggest widening the A10 but keeping it as a single carriageway. This has the potential to create accident blackspots on an already congested route which could grind to a halt with this extra burden. In terms of forward planning of housing provision, the district is on target to reach its allocation of new homes by 2021 without the need to build Mereham.
"These are all arguments which will be presented at the Inquiry on the 9th October and this newsletter is the first update to explain what is happening with the fight to stop Mereham. There will be more editions coming out over the next two months to ensure everyone is updated on how local authorities are working together to oppose the development."
View Issue 1 of the Mereham Newsletter
View Issue 2 of the Mereham Newsletter
View Issue 3 of the Mereham Newsletter
Sign Up for the Fight Against Mereham
Residents throughout the county can download a special 'Say no to Mereham' poster from East Cambridgeshire District Council's website. The poster can be downloaded into a poster size and printed off on home computers to be displayed prominently from your home.
Download the poster here
