The countryside charity, CPRE Kent, has initiated a legal challenge against the Council’s planning application to build a car park on the meadows. The Save Wincheap Water Meadows campaign has promised to raise £5000 by 6th January in support of CPRE’s challenge. A crowdfunding page has been set up to raise this money. Please consider making a contribution.
There will be a busking event in town today (Sat 7th) in the High Street near the Methodist Church from 12.30pm to 2pm with Richard Navarro and Nicholas Thurston singing and playing. Leaflets will be given out asking people to support the legal appeal, write to councillors, sign the petition and put up posters. An eye-catching window poster is now available. If you can put some up at your house, place of work or in a shop, please arrange to collect them from one of these pick-up points:
Barton Ward: Anna Peckham (St Augustine’s Road area): amgpeckham @ gmail.com
Westgate Towers area: Richard Navarro-Pollott richardnavarro @ live.co.uk
Dane John area: Cllr Nick Eden-Green nick.eden-green @ councillor.canterbury.gov.uk
Kingsmead: Beverley Paton beverleypaton @ jesararts.net
St Dunstan’s: Jan Pahl j.m.pahl @ kent.ac.uk
St Michael’s Road area: Richard Norman richardnorman @ gn.apc.org St Stephen’s Road area: Sian Pettman spettman @ gn.apc.org Thanington: Dave Hanna riversidebiker40 @ gmail.com
Wincheap: Cllr Derek Maslin derek.maslin @ councillor.canterbury.gov.uk or Pat Marsh patmarshis @ gmail.com
A laminated version is also available for displaying outdoors.
Interestingly, after a very wet two months, culminating in nearly an inch of rain on 27th November, the river started to overflow its banks in places, and shallow-flooded the small area of wet woodland between the allotments and river. The council is committed to retaining the floodplain function of the area if the extension is built, so that it can continue to act as a reservoir that temporarily stores water that would otherwise go straight down into Canterbury, thereby increasing the risk of flood damage in the city.
The planning committee’s decision to permit the extension of the Wincheap park and ride will probably be debated at the full council meeting on 8th January – we’ll keep you posted.