SWAP Campaign newsletter #1

What’s recently happened?

We have lots to bring you up to date on. First, a quick re-cap of where the Ministry of Justice are with their proposal. Currently they are still in their ‘scoping’ period prior to applying for planning permission via Braintree District Council (BDC). A planning submission is expected by early summer. It was highlighted very early on that the consultation was inadequate and failed to consult Wethersfield Parish Council or notify several of the affected surrounding villages, however, I’m sure that they have been surprised by the strength of opinion in opposing the proposals and were perhaps relying on our small villages being unable to orchestrate a co-ordinated response to match their speed and progress.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) acknowledges the prisons are likely to have significant environmental impacts related principally to traffic movements, ecology, air quality, noise, heritage, landscape and visual impact, water resource and flood risk. The MoJ's own agents baldly say:

“the application site is not allocated for development and is located in a ‘countryside’ area. The proposed development is contrary to the Development Plan and the policies in the emerging Local Plan.”

The Wethersfield Airfield Scrutiny Committee (WASC), representing ten local parish councils, has responded with concerns regarding errors in procedure and information presented in scoping documents. Both WASC and SWAP intend to forcefully oppose a planning application for a prison or prisons on the site of Wethersfield Airfield.

It’s not just us that oppose these plans, last month, as reported in the Halstead Gazette, the airbase was visited by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

The CPRE was founded in 1926 and has more than 40,000 members and supporters. The CPRE recently met with SWAP campaigners to examine the Wethersfield Airfield prison proposals from the Ministry of Justice and after a site visit, has now declared its support for the return of the airfield to farmland or a mixed-use country park and leisure scheme.

In a statement, the CPRE brought up several issues relating to the project, including the isolated rural location, light and traffic pollution, and supply demand. They said:

“CPRE’s preference would be for the airfield to be returned to the use it had before the Second World War – agricultural purposes – especially as it lies surrounded by Grade 2 land. Alternatively, if the cost of reinstatement is prohibitive, a mixed use country park and leisure scheme might be appropriate. It could also provide opportunities for active leisure pursuits, such as walking, cycling and bird watching.”

Lastly, a recent meeting was held with Alan MacKenzie and others from SWAP, with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who are in charge of the disposal of the airbase, to explore other potential possibilities for the site that would be more beneficial for the local community. The fact that we got to have this meeting is positive and a sign of the growing prominence of SWAP. We will keep you informed of future developments (no pun intended).

Where are we now? 

We have just opened a bank account (it took so long…), so we are in a membership drive, promotion, expansion, spreading the word, fund raising, fact finding, fact sharing mode!

We have a core SWAP team, with sub-groups, working closely with other organisations, and individuals, giving their time for FREE to make sure that ALL local communities have the chance to make an informed decision about the building of these MEGA PRISONS, the impact on everyone and the potential alternatives.

You might have seen us on our ‘road trips’ around the local area as members of SWAP, sit quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, at the back of various village or town events, to answer questions from attendees in relation to the latest developments. We will be continuing with these.

We are keeping a high profile in the local press, with several articles appearing in the Braintree & Witham Times, Dunmow Broadcast, Halstead Gazette, The Guardian and Essex Live - notably featuring our recent gatherings to show support of SWAP held in Wethersfield, Finchingfield and Great Bardfield. Our social media sites are very active and our new web site is receiving many plaudits.

We continue to raise questions at Braintree Council Full Council meetings. At the last one it was asked why Cllr Butland and Cllr Tattersley (both representatives of Three Fields Ward) misled Braintree District councillors, the planning department and the MoJ after visiting several local parish councillors back in September last year by Mr. Tattersley emailing BDC saying:

“the consensus that I have heard is that the proposals are to be welcomed”

The MoJ subsequently emailed BDC saying they held a productive meeting with Cllr Tattersley:

”He was very positive about the scheme and was keen to keep in touch regularly”
”Parish Councils already know about the plans but are very positive”

Then the MoJ’s agents sent an email to BDC stating:
“I understand from Peter Tattersley that the PCs are already aware and apparently all of them support the principle of the new prisons in this location.”

This is all from Freedom of Information requests made. How wrong and misleading can you be?

What’s coming next?

Fund raising will be a major part of our next phase. The government machine is large and relentless. It takes professionals to challenge their position legally. These professionals and the reports that need preparing are expensive. this is what we will be raising funds for. Lookout for our donation page and events that will help us in this respect.

Continuing rational and factual questions will be asked of the MoD, Braintree District Council and the MoJ as we continue to ask them to reverse any support or rationale for this project.