The Trust thanks Arrow FM for thier Radio Coverage

6th March 2015
THE TRUST THANKS ARROW FM FOR THIER FABULOUS RADIO COVERAGE




Please send your reponse here
http://www.friendsofspeckledwoodmanagementtrust.org.uk/consultation/

The Trust and Charity want to thank Arrow FM for thier help covering the Consultation that they are running alongside the Councils to Protyect Speckled Wood / Upper Ore Valley  Hastings

The Trust meet SSPT on site today

5th March 2015
THE TRUST MEET WITH SSPT ON SITE TODAY
The Trust met the new area co-ordinator for the SSPT this afternoon with regard clearing the rubbish in the top of Speckled Wood/ Upper Ore Valley behind London Road. This area is become a fly tipping site .

Work is due to commense in April 2015 to cut back the hedge to allow a lorry access to deliver a skip. This will be welcome news, we hope to residents living alongside the Woodland. The Trust is working with the SSTP to establish dates  toi start clearing the Rubbish after the delivery of a Skip can be negogiated.  

Save Speckled Wood

27th Feburary 2015
http://www.friendsofspeckledwoodmanagementtrust.org.uk/consultation/
SAVE SPECKLED WOOD
 The Friends of Speckled Wood Managment Trust have been very busy since being notified of the The Planning Policy teams Consultation. A letter was sent to Councils Chief Legal last week in regard to incorrect dates and confusing information. We indicated to the Councils Legal department we would be running our own Consulattion alongside the Councils to help the public to make representation. The Hastings Observer has run a story this week with a link to the Trusts new consulation. This is brilliant news . Please help us save Speckled Wood .We are not there yet but we are much closer. This consultation is one of the most important to date, it decides what is saved. The Main Modifications wording on the forms come from the Inspector  to make changes to a Plan. We have tried to make this a simple as  possible.

There is a further opportunity to comment on the Inspector's Preliminary Findings - consultation period 13 February - 27 March 2015

There is a further opportunity to comment on the Inspector's Preliminary Findings - consultation period 13 February - 27 March 2015

The Local Development Framework does not provide enough protection for Speckled Wood/Upper Ore Valley. The Main Modifications from the Inspector's Preliminary Report need to be brought in to make the Plan sound and provide protection through the Inspector's recommendations.

The decision to delete MM8 site allocation at Victoria Avenue (CV01) due to environment and community considerations overriding any requirement for development is welcomed.

MM9 deletion of proposed housing allocation CV03 at Rear of Old London Road is welcomed but it does not provide protection of the remainder of the woodland. To make the plan sound either an additional or new Main Modification should be created to MM9 expanded to encompass the entire Speckled Wood/ Upper Ore Valley green-space lying to the Rear of Old London Road and encompassing Church Street (un-adopted) to Clifton Road, Frederick Road,  known locally as nomenclature Speckled Wood essentially on the grounds that the environmental and community considerations outweigh the need/requirement for housing. Policies for Local Nature Reserve, Ancient Woodland and Local Wildlife Site would appear to be the appropriate status for this site. This is in line with the Policies contained within the Local Plan.

The Trust will be anouncing its Consultation shortly

Speckled Wood had not been successful recognised by the Inspector.

19th February 2015
SPECKLED WOOD HAS NOT BEEN SUCESSFULLY RECOGNISED BY THE INSPECTOR
Program Officer tells the Trust Chairman "that thier arguments in respect to Speckled Wood had not been successful recognised by the Inspector. "

The Trust feel this is not suprising due to the IT related problems with the Hastings Council website site non transparency and the total disregard for legal matters in certain allocations. The Trust Chairman said he had written countless times stating the Planning Examination was disenfranchising them from  the due process. Nothing had been done to to help this situation . This resulted in the Inspector witnessing all Respondants state the Local Plan was not sound.

The Trust is concenred with the centre of the Woodland and that the Inspector has made no written comment in in his Preliminary thoughts on the plan in  regard its protection.

There have been grave concernes aired to the Complaints process and Secretory of State with reccent Planning Committie.

The Trust discusses plans to move forward with its consulation.

Evidence has been found that the 1930 General Development Plan was adopted

8th February 2015
EVIDENCE HAS BEEN FOUND TODAY THAT THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN WAS ADOPTED
New Evidence has been found today. A Planning Application from 1956 stating that the General Development Plan 1930 provisioning Speckled Wood as an Public Open Space was adopted.

The Trust and Charity Chairman had been researching Historical Planning Applications in regard Speckled Wood and located this Planning Application which clearly refused Planning on this estate on the basis  that it was not shown allocated for residential purposes in the Development Plan .

The General Development Plan 1930 .
Was an instrumental document that was responsible for shaping Hastings laying it out much as it is today.  This is a fabulous find in the Archive an really proves why the Council needs to have it available as a Public resource. Without this historical information being made available we will loose vital information That shows us why Hastings is cherished so dearly.

The Friends and Badger Protection Society visit the Coucils Planning Archives

6th February 2015
THE FRIENDS AND BADGER PROTECTION SOCIETY VISIT THE COUNCIL PLANNING ARCHIVES.

A second visit to the Council was conducted this morning in an attempt to view the Public Planning files  that were needed two days ago.  A previous visit had failed to present the Public Records.  Disappointingly the files where not complete again and files where missing. The Trust has been investigating a historic planning matter where the Hastings Badger Protection Society took the Council to Judicial Review. A third complaint has been raised  as the planning Department has now failed to provide information on three occasions. Paperwork in the file established and backed up the Badger Protection Society's case that it had only been to one Hearing. One possibility of this is that the first Hearing was provided on papers only in 2001 This is however not found in the Planning file. It is only by the Administrative Court Office  and was not documented and has not been resolved the missing documents would the Trust believe clarify this position. The documents on the desk are a report from Dr Julian Brown, an expert in the Judicial Review who outlines the requirement for 5m and 10m protected species corridors on page one. The other report is a report particular to the planning historic Application. More investigations are ongoing.

Speed checks on Frederick Road

06th February 2015
SPEED CHECKS ON FREDERIC ROAD.
Traffic speed checks where being conducted on Frederick Road today by a specialist team  who braved the cold in an attempt to keep the traffic speeds down on this road Well done everyone.

Ms Tanya Charman a local Councillor has told us that she has taken the issues of the speed limit and lorry use of Frederick road  to East Sussex County Council recently to ask for them to intervene .

Wasting Public funds

WASTING PUBLIC FUNDS.
4th   February 2015

If you were part of the cattle market at the town hall this evening proportioning to be a  large number of rushed Planning Meeting to be granted by our Council then this is very sad.

The Council that we elect including the Local Ore Councillor all voted in favor of building on the Clifton Road end of Speckled Wood ignoring 6000+ objections, illegal room sizes and the Plan that cant even get a normal size garbage truck up the road this is not withstanding  the badgers who have rights on the site. Why has this happened you may ask. was the Planning Inspector not making this decision in the Revised Development Plan (Local) Plan 2014 which from 2004-2013 alone cost  over £3 million  pounds Does the Council not read Kent County Council Planning updates? . It appears that the Council did not need the report from the Planning Inspector to make their decision tonight . Why then have they spent over £3 million  pound on this Development Plan when the Council is cutting services in Hastings.  How can our ward Councillor not know the extent of Speckled Wood. Perhaps he was covering his eyes. This is supposed to be democratic well you decide. Perhaps this gives some answers as it appears the Council has been paid by HCA a large sum of money.

The Trust & Charity have learned that there is a Planning Meeting tomorrow

02 February 2015
THE TRUST & CHARITY HAVE LEARNED THAT THERE IS A PLANNING MEETING TOMORROW.
We were told today that the Planning Department is going to have a Private Planning Meeting tomorrow  . To discuss planning regarding Church Street and other matters that have come up before them on Wednesday.

The Trust and Charity has already written to the Development Control Manager with complaint of the process.  Letters have gone out to Council Legal Department today in regard a major legal complaint.

The Trust & Charity  believes the Outline Application should not be prejudged by the Council when the Council has spent Public Money paying for a Public Examination give a decision in six weeks for this exact same matters. This is a total waste of Public Money that is being spent on a Pubic Examination if this decision is being made on Wednesday. Quite frankly this is appalling. Especially when you consider our Council is shutting down other vital services. What are they thinking .

Please phone the Council and ask them tomorrow. There has been no information as yet to tell us that the Outline Application has been withdrawn. Please come down and witness this "spiraling out of control decision making" tomorrow at the Town Hall 6:00pm tomorrow.

Is the Planning Department no longer following the law.

29th January 2015
IS THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT NO LONGER FOLLOWING THE LAW?

The Outline Planning Matter HS/OA/14/0087 for Church Street  today is  according to the Report by Mr Sam Batchelor  being recommended to be adopted. This is in direct contradiction to the Judicial Review CO/4509/200 , This has been noted in previous Planning matters and a 5m corridor has been enforced. Some of this land is owned by a government body HCA . How can they not be aware of this law? If the 5m corridor was enforced it would not give space for these allocation of Housing http://publicaccess.hastings.gov.uk/online-applications/files/A2AE4E219D453DEE954DFB8C7E5A7513/pdf/HS_OA_14_00876--360545.pdf

We are starting to believe the Planning Department in Hastings is not capable of functioning correctly. This comes two days after a East Sussex Highways removed a report from their website 'Ridge Movement and Access Study' concerning the hazardous report on the congestion on the ridge and includes accident survey from the AMEY department. The trust is alarmed at this process and nothing seems to stop this process. The Inspectors report has not even been published for these areas. Is this just another way the council is wasting our money on a report that they are going to ignore.  https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfSpeckledWood/photos/a.364014017005094.80616.363895927016903/813320308741127/?type=1&theater Even the Council who granted themselves Planning for this site on two separate back when some of the land was Compulsorily Purchased  did not build here  despite having Planning in place . 

It has not been explained by the Council why two pieces of land number 136 and 142 Church Street where compulsory purchased by Council in 1962 and then handed to a private company to develop. The Land Registrar information shows that these two plots along with the ones in Church Street subject to this Planning where handed over in HT19042 in 06.11.1985 . There has been no explanation of this despite letters to Legal and Freedom of Informatiion Requests.

Hard copies of the Trusts Response To highways Note are send to Program Officer

27th January 2015
HARD COPIES OF THE TRUST AND CHARITIES RESPONSE TO HIGHWAYS NOTE ARE SENT TO PROGRAM OFFICER
Following on from the Trust and Charity sending in their note by email after hearing the correct format from the Program Officer . Hard copies have been send.

Wood Chip is Dropped off to Church Street, Speckled Wood

27nd December 2014
WOOD CHIP IS DROPPED OFF TO  CHURCH STREET,  SPECKLED WOOD.

The Trust has been able to have Wood chip dropped up the top of the Woodland this week. The supplier has been asked to move location from the TOP.  This is ready for the warmer weather. Thank you everyone who helped. This is brilliant as the pathways will be much nicer this year again.

The Ore Stream floods knocking out power

08th January 2015
The Ore Stream floods knocking out power.
The Ore Stream flooded today with the heavy down poor of rain that occurred in the morning . The Agencies were aware of the likely hood of a problem and acted quickly to pump away water. There is known to be a blockage in the pipe that runs 100ft under the roadway at Speckled Wood. These it seems has been blocked by concrete according to a video probe which was sent down before Christmas. Pictured is a previous lorry attending to pollution and contamination.

The Friends & Charity want to thank the Agencies for their fast work restoring power and dealing with the flooding.