Mereham
Encyclopedia
Mereham is a potential new town near Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...

 in East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in Ely....

. The developers, Multiplex
Multiplex (company)
Brookfield Multiplex is a global contracting and development company that designs, builds and maintains property and infrastructure assets.- History :Brookfield Multiplex was founded as Multiplex in 1962 in Perth, Western Australia by John Roberts...

 Stannifer, have applied for planning permission but, as of yet, has not received it. The application for planning permission was turned down by East Cambridgeshire District Council but the developers have appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and the decision has been called in by the Secretary of State. The inquiry closed, after a number of adjournments on 8 January 2008. The Planning Inspector, Richard Ogier, made his report in April 2008, and in August 2008 the Secretary of State for Communities, Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...

, announced that permission for the development had been refused.

Mereham is a controversial issue, as the plans have already been rejected by East Cambridgeshire District Council, who were supported in the decision by Cambridgeshire County Council, and the refusal of necessary associated works to the A10 in the adjacent |District of South Cambridgeshire. The main issue is the size of the town which would consist of around 5000 new homes and the transport links to the development sites both to Ely and Cambridge. The site is south of the A1123, west of the A10, north of the River Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...

, and east of the B1049 Twenty Pence Road.

The three Local Authorities were represented by barrister Simon Bird and the developer by Robin Purchas QC and Craig Howell Williams. Over a week of the Inquiry was taken up by hearing evidence from local residents on a number of issues including traffic, impact on local wildlife and the potential drain on local services.

Backlash and lawsuit

Say No to Mereham is a protest group of villagers in Haddenham
Haddenham, Cambridgeshire
Haddenham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,228.It has several shops and a regular bus service to the cathedral city of Ely, which is about north-east of the village....

, Wilburton
Wilburton
Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely.While nominally an agricultural village, many of the inhabitants work in Cambridge, Ely or London.-History:...

, Stretham
Stretham
Stretham is a small village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain the fens. The pump is still in use today although converted to electric power. It has open...

, and Witchford
Witchford
Witchford is a small village near Ely in Cambridgeshire, England.Witchford houses the secondary school Witchford Village College that serves all of the surrounding villages, including Haddenham, Little Thetford, Mepal, Stretham, Sutton, Wilburton and Witcham.The village hosts the Grunty Fen Half...

who are against the building of Mereham. Their purpose is to stop the building of Mereham, because they say the 'effect would be disastrous to East Cambridgeshire'. The group members are undeniably passionate about their cause, and overall community support is very much with them.

According to a recent article in the Ely Standard newspaper, the campaign members are also seeking court action requiring Multiplex to reimburse their members for lost wages and expenses incurred during the public inquiry. The local district and county councils are also claiming costs incurred via their legal representatives. Some outside observers have speculated that the court claim is itself an attempt to bring more publicity to the protest effort.

Decision

The Planning Inspector, Richard Ogier, assisted by specialist Highways Inspector William Wadrup submitted his report to Hazel Blears at the end of April 2008. The decision was released on Friday 29 August 2008, with all 3 appeals being dismissed by the Secretary of State.

Whilst Ms Blears concurred with the Inspector that there were significant deficiencies in the plans put forward by the Appellant, Stannifer Developments Limited, a point of potential concern for the residents of East Cambridgeshire is her apparent recognition of the inevitability of substantial new housing development in the district in the coming years, which she says is necessary to meet the needs for housing in the sub-region, which have not been satisfied by existing and future developments in and around Cambridge.

Disappointingly for the Councils and the Say No to Mereham Campaign no awards of costs were made in connection with the appeals. However, Council officials may take considerable pride in the outcome of the Inquiry, and the way in which their robust defence of an often challenging set of reasons for refusal was presented. Likewise it is clear from headlines in local papers that the actions of local residents will not swiftly be forgotten.

Re-submission

On 5 November 2008 the Ely Standard reported that Multiplex Stannifer have re-submitted the proposal, this time to the East of England Regional Authority, which has a housing construction target for the area.

External links

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