Full steam ahead for date with destiny

The Titanic was quite a sight to behold as it sailed out of Liverpool on its maiden voyage, a magnificent ship with a destiny ahead of it; to reach New York with all the pomp and ceremony it deserved and to establish itself as White Star’s flagship standard-bearer.

Last Thursday three ‘decisions’ were trumpeted at Cabinet which points to a much-desired destination of development, being showered with the confetti of investment.

But lurking beneath the water are a number of icebergs which must be negotiated.

1. Our affordable housing strategy makes no mention of ensuring that all housing will be built to help future residents cope with the increasingly extreme weather patterns that will blight Blighty for the next 50-100 years plus. Neither does our environment and climate strategy refer to safeguarding the lives and well-being of homeowners by building in what is called climate resilience. We are condemning residents to poor health and even higher death rates.

2. The Council have announced an intention to review the future of the town hall without any backup evidence or viable alternatives being proposed, nor any promise of an open process, nor any clear rationale for decision making. One can’t help but wonder on the indecent haste in the report or whether there are any ulterior motives.

3. The council intends to give away public assets at a time when it is so short of cash that services have been cut to the bone. Not only that but it is proposing to allow development on green space which will reduce public open space needed for an increasing population, reduce carbon capture, increase the release of greenhouse gases, reduce the habitat needed to stave off biodiversity extinction, and all without any other options being presented or considered.

Now, this is the devil is in the detail. Without planning documents and strategy documents that take climate change and the environment seriously, which we do not have even on the horizon, developers can and will effectively ignore the need to make every development carbon neutral, to protect future residents by building in climate-resilient measures or, to create swathes of urban habitat.

Builders will get away with murder, the murder of the environment, and our children's futures.

It seems like the icebergs have been reported to the bridge but neither the captain nor the officers care.

It’s full steam ahead for their date with destiny!

Cllr WISDOM DA COSTA West Windsor Residents Association Clewer & Dedworth West