Emily Smith gave a confident maiden speech at Vale Council meeting on 15 Oct 14.
Emily, pictured on the right with me and Layla Moran at Botley’s Big Fete in Sep 2014, presented a petition to Drop the Doric Deal.
The petition says:
I/we, the undersigned, demand that the Vale of White Horse District Council drops the current proposals for the redevelopment of West Way. The scheme does not have the support of the community and the views of local residents have been ignored.
Emily had this to say on the night:
I am here this evening on behalf of my neighbours in Botley to present the District Council, and specifically the Cabinet, with a petition asking you to pull out of the deal with Doric Properties.
The petition was initiated by [the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate] Layla Moran three weeks ago and has already been signed by 650 people.
As you will be aware from the one thousand plus objections to the planning application, Doric’s proposal for the demolition and replacement of the west way shopping area is incredibly unpopular. It is now clear that the overwhelming view of the local community is strong opposition to the size, scale and design of the current plan.
For the past two years residents of Botley and the surrounding villages have had this planning application hanging over their heads. The stress, uncertainty and anxiety this has caused has been immense.
From our elderly neighbours at Field House who live in fear of losing their homes, to the local businesses that risk losing their livelihoods and letting their staff go. From families worried about the health, safety and practicality of their children getting to school in the mornings, to professionals wondering whether they should move away from the area before congestion on the Botley Road and A34 becomes unbearable.
The primary responsibility of elected members should be to work for and with local residents to ensure that local communities develop with full public support and involvement.
Yet in this case the Vale and Doric have failed to listen to or act upon any of the substantive concerns of local residents – leaving people feeling ignored.
But you, Councillors, have the power to put an end to all this anxiety right now.
You can chose to listen to the people who have signed this petition and withdraw from the deal with Doric before their application even gets to planning committee.
And yes, I understand (even without having seen the contract you have signed) that there may be a heavy financial penalty if you decide to pull out.
But you have to ask yourselves what would be the cost of letting the Doric proposal go ahead?
If the development were to bring in the additional consumers required and managed to be financially viable, it would clearly lead to massive congestion, addition pollution and the disintegration of a safe and well-functioning community.
That would be bad enough, but there is also a very real risk that Doric’s scheme could prove to be a huge white elephant – resulting in a loss of local services and great financial cost to the Vale, and therefore the tax payer.
It is not easy to admit that you have got something wrong but I urge you to think about the devastating impact this scheme will have on our community and ask you to withdraw from the deal with Doric before it is too late.
Members of the Council, it is time to pull out of the land deal with Doric and start working with local people to provide a new shopping area that is both economically viable and meets the needs of our growing community.
There’s good news for Botley in the Oxford Mail. (I hope you can follow the story.)
