LAND SELL-OFF
By Kevin Winson

Further to the recent news on Pride Park II going ahead at Alvaston and Michael Foote of Derby City Council stating that the council is ready to sell off its land so that the area can be developed. I may be wrong but surely council land is actually public land, which the council is supposed to manage on our behalf. Before the Highways Agency and the council succeeded in getting the Alvaston bypass approved, one question which was never fully answered was that of the development of the area. It was stated that the bypass would remove traffic from Alvaston and improve air quality along Shardlow Road.

Yet, by actively seeking to develop this area, the city council will significantly increase the amount of traffic coming in and cause a further drop in air quality. Add to this the effects of other forms of pollution and one can see there will be a considerable impact on the area. Looking at the area in general we see that it comprises of established trees an hedgerows, forms part of the floodplain and was home to a large variety of wildlife. The land provides an open space between residential development (including a school) and industrial development and is used by many walkers and horse riders.

The city council has previously vowed to protect footpaths, bridleways, wildlife corridors, hedgerows, trees and the riverside. Yet here in one stroke of the pen it will decimate all of the above. What effect will building on a floodplain have when the land is already waterlogged? Surface water and other water will have to go into an already overloaded system or find other land to lie on. We have a Government whose policy is not to build on floodplain and insurance companies that will not insure properties on floodplain areas. Yet here we have a council that is going to allow just such a development to go ahead.

Before selling off land and allowing the countryside to be developed let's ask how many industrial units, warehouses and offices are standing empty in Derby because they are not fashionable at present. Surely it would be better to redevelop these areas than remove the heart and lungs of any town or city, for after all isn't that exactly what the countryside is? I would state to all residents of Derby, get to know what the council proposes to do, seek out the City Of Derby Review and study it for what the council does today affects not only your future but also that of your descendants.

We elect councillors to represent the views of the people and a council is there to ensure the public get what it wants. So, the choice is yours. Stand up and speak out so that the message is heard or live with the thought "if only I had done so " when things happen that affect you at your expense.