With all those votes for, who would dare be against?

Before Monday’s special meeting of the full council began, the smart money was on councillors backing an option to reject the proposed 6,000-home eco-town at Long Marston, but allowing amendments that would leave the door open for a change of mind once more information was available. A middle way for Middle Quinton, if you like.

But the pressure had become so intense that anything that smacked of a fudge would have been branded as an unforgivable cop-out. In the end every single member of the council present at the meeting intoned the word “For” when asked for his or her opinion on a motion committing the council to outright opposition to the project.

There was an unusual amount of electricity in the council chamber as chairman Cllr Stuart Beese (Cons, Stratford) and other senior figures strode in to take their seats at the start of the meeting. With television cameras present (it was also going out live on the council’s website) the electricity was physical as well as metaphorical. . .

Before the meeting got properly under way there was a moment when it looked like it might be about to take an irreversible comic turn. There were exchanges about what constituted “a personal interest” on the part of councillors.

No-one referred to him by name, but Tony Bird—a co-promoter of the eco-town scheme—was on everyone’s mind when Cllr Peter Moorse (Lib Dem, Stratford) sought to establish a link between him and the ruling Conservatives. It seems there are three categories of personal interest, in ascending order of seriousness—social acquaintanceship, close friendship and a business relationship.

This prompted Cllr Les Topham (Cons, Sambourne), the leader of the council, to make a clean breast of it. Cllr Moorse, he said, was referring to “my association with a developer.” But all Cllr Topham did was attend functions at which the developer was present. The developer was a member of the Conservative Party and he “throws a party every year.”

Cllr Topham said he was “disappointed” with Cllr Moorse for implying a personal interest. “I have no declaration of interest to declare,” boomed Cllr Topham. Cllr Chris Saint (Cons, Tredington) then provoked laughter when he revealed that he had similar associations with the developer, “but I don’t get invited to his parties. . .”

Normality was restored when a series of questions was asked from the front of the public gallery—one by a private individual and the rest by representatives from three parish councils with an especially acute interest in the eco-town—Marston Sicca, Quinton and Admington.

The questions—which included queries about flooding, affordable housing and transport—were answered politely by the relevant portfolio holders without throwing much extra light on the subjects. Apart from one, that is. Cllr Gillian Roache (Cons, Vale of the Red Horse), the housing portfolio holder, told Mike Walsby, vice-chairman of Quinton Parish Council, how the council defined “affordable housing.”

Said Cllr Roache: “Housing association homes for rent or shared ownership are what we consider to be affordable housing.” So far as house prices were concerned in the Stratford district, anything from £150,000 to £190,000 was also considered to be “affordable.”

Suddenly the meeting was threatened with another descent into comedy when a letter from the leader of neighbouring Wychavon District Council—which recently came out strongly against the Long Marston scheme—was mentioned. Cllr Topham said he agreed with everything in the letter.

“What’s in the letter?” demanded the Lib Dems. Cllr Topham said he couldn’t quote from it because he didn’t have it with him.

The council was almost on the brink of arguing about how a letter from one council leader to another council leader could be “private”, when chief executive Paul Lankester announced that the letter would be found and delivered to the council chamber. A few minutes later it duly arrived and Cllr Topham read from it.

When the debate eventually got under way, Cllr Izzi Seccombe (Cons, Ettington)—one of the leading campaigners against the eco-town—told councillors people had known about the scheme since November last year. A senior government civil servant, Henry Cleary, had visited the district “at
least twice.” She said: “We have as much information now as we’re likely to get within the next six weeks when the consultation ends.”

Cllr Seccombe urged the council to make a firm decision. “If we don’t decide we could be challenged for failing to represent the views of our community,” she said. “We would be failing in our democratic duty if we don’t take this opportunity to take into account their views from this council which they pay for as taxpayers.”

Supporting her, Cllr Mike Brain (Cons, Quinton) said: “This is the largest single item this council has ever had to debate. I would like to see unity in opposing this eco-town.” He argued that it was another government proposal that was “bound to fail” and claimed it was an idea that had been dreamt up “on the back of a fag packet.” He said it “wasn’t green” to build an eco-town six miles from the nearest town.

It would have a population of approximately 15,000, with 12,000 cars. To build the infrastructure to cope would not be environmentally-friendly.

Cllr Philip Seccombe (Cons, Brailes)—husband of Izzi— condemned the eco-town scheme as an “unjustified, unwanted and impulsive proposal” that would affect all the residents of the district. He said: “I believe that council monies would be sucked away from our existing priorities against the aims of our corporate strategy and will be funnelled into the so-called ‘eco-town’—not only during the consultation period, but throughout its construction and beyond. In addition, partner organisations like the police, housing associations, social services, schools, health, ambulance and fire will be forced to change their priorities and funding to cope with this extra and unbudgeted New Town. Surely this would impact on services for the rest of us.”

Cllr Bob Stevens (Cons, Long Itchington) asked where the residents of “Middle Quinton” would be coming from. “Liverpool, London—Poland, perhaps?”

The opposition leader on the district council, Cllr Hazel Wright (Lib Dem, Studley), said: “The Liberal Democrats believe local planning processes should be delivering the housing needs of the local people. The imposition of an ecotown by central government doesn’t follow due processes or recognise local sensitivity.”

After little more than an hour of actual debate an amended motion from Cllr John Appleton (Cons, Southam) was put forward. It replaced the original motion proposed by Cllr Izzi Seccombe. The motion of Cllr Appleton—who voiced mock surprise that there was no-one in the council chamber to say the eco-town was such a good idea—instructed the council’s chief executive and the leader of the council to write to Housing Minister Caroline Flint expressing “in the strongest possible terms” the authority’s objection to an eco-town at Long Marston. It was carried unanimously on recorded vote.

In this atmosphere, to have voiced dissent might have been putting one’s health at risk.