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I don't want to bore you all to tears by rambling on at further length about the Draft Local Plan other than to say that I have written my letter of objection to it and delivered it by hand a few hours before the official deadline on 13th October. I purposely left it until then to give everyone ample time to give me their views on what I have been saying publicly about it in the local newspapers, parish magazines and at Parish Council meetings for the last couple of months. I am grateful for the messages of support which I have had. For the benefit of those who object to what I have been saying I have made it completely clear in my letter that it contains my personal opinions and I have not pretended to represent everybody's point of view: that would be impossible. I do hope that anyone who had an opinion, whatever it may be, took the opportunity to have an input into the formulation of a new Local Plan for East Cambridgeshire before the deadline passed, because that was their last chance until 2006. I am very happy to send a copy of my letter to anyone who would like one. Each of the Parish Councillors has a copy and I have given the Editor one. If he decides to print it in full in Out of Reach I will be very pleased, because as I have said before, I have nothing to hide. I will leave that decision to him though as it is fairly long !
I am very angry to see that the piece of County Council land opposite Swaffham Prior House seems to have become one of the favoured stopping place for gypsies at the moment. I telephone the Environmental Services Manager at E.C.D.C. nearly every day to report what is happening there and on other sites. I would suggest that other people do the same thing in order to report any nuisance such as trees being damaged and bonfires being lit (which are a traffic hazard so close to the road ). If complaints don't come in then those in high places presume that it must be all right for the gypsies to be there. It is not ! I suggested at the October Swaffham Prior Parish Council meeting that when the present caravan eventually goes it would be a good idea as a preventative measure to get a furrow ploughed around the perimeter to stop caravans from being able to be towed onto the site. The Parish Councillors unanimously agreed that something needs to be done and that they would write to the County Council Highways Dept.to ask for the necessary works to be carried out. I trust that our County Councillor who was present at the meeting and did not voice any objections to the idea will give all his support to the Parish Council in their efforts to protect this piece of land from further invasion by unwelcome visitors.
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