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EMPIRE BUILDING - The problem with empires is that they do not last. Their builders always lose sight of the natural limitations that have governed the evolution and ecological balance of planet earth for millions of years before man came along and thought he knew better.
Every house and factory that is built increases our carbon footprint. As each council in the UK does the same as Wealden District Council, the country adds to desertification and rising sea levels that affect another country. Our indulgences cause great harm and suffering to refugees in Africa who cannot grow enough crops to feed themselves, let alone put up yet another industrial estate in the middle of nowhere.
Councils dish out all the planning consents in their districts, also enforcing against what they deem (and they make the local plan policies) inappropriate development, meaning that it is your local authority that is responsible for driving climate change to the emergency levels it is at present.
We could not print this if it were not true. The council could sue us for libel. But unfortunately for them - it is true.
Families would choose alternative lifestyles, but councils give them no choice. They only build conventional housing - hence promote global warming. Because that is how we superheated the planet.
Ultimately, it is Her Majesty's Governments that are to blame for allowing councils to make these decisions willy-nilly - without any effective controls. Where in general, a local authority cannot plan further than the end of their noses - with many investing in oil companies - hence planning for and investing in a fossil fuelled future.
Why are such staff employed? Council's need staff who think clean, not dirty! But they have been corrupted by years of institutionalised practices that are unsustainable.
A local action group has been saying this for years, calling for a special police squad to prosecute corrupt officials, but all that happened after Lord Nolan and a Petition, was absolutely nothing - no change. Indeed, the petitioners continued to be persecuted with SLAPP actions.
DIAMOND DRIVE - Diamonds may have been the aim for the wealthy landlords when putting up this industrial unit near Hailsham in Sussex. But it means sand and starvation to other countries. The fat-cat developers appear to not care about their brothers and sisters in foreign lands. F--k them! Who in their right mind builds units like these that appear to include no climate change mitigation features. How did they get planning consent and on what terms. Check out the bitumen parking bays. Bitumen is a petroleum by-product. Imagine the cost of the diesel used in constructing this monster. And note, not an EV charging point in sight.
HOW WRONG CAN YOU BE ?
In the rush to make up for years of operating selective planning policies and empire building, it is no surprise that because of the kleptocratic officers and councillors there is a housing shortage in the Wealden District. Councillors and officers in this council are empire builders looking to create grand designs at the expense of the working class electorate who cannot afford this type of accommodation - as well their wealthy landlord brethren know.
This kind of corruption is not good for the planet.
But in Conservative councils they like the rental system where people with money can exploit young families and live in luxury without having to work. They like high land values. They've been investing in land for years waiting for planning permission and millionaires row.
The proof of the pudding is the boom in brick built estates and corrugated steel industrial estates that are springing up like a plague, leach like in concept, perpetuating financial slavery for those in a position to profit. Most landlords vote conservative. Wealden is a Conservative council.
The Conservative Party is riddled with corrupt MPs on the take with consultancy fees, for so many hours a week, when in fact their extra-curricular work on the side, absorbs all the constituent time - and of course, such conflicts of interest have a nasty habit of landing their chums government contracts. For that/these reasons, the members books, where declarations of interest and donations, etc., are hardly ever accurate. Most especially in local councils. Take a look at your local authority record, and you'll see what we mean. Almost no recorded declarations. Despite the fact that the members typically know the wealthy landowners personally.
Even more disgusting, is councillors remaining in chambers to watch and influence voting, where they have un-declared interests, but where the other members know there is a conflict - but don't say anything. Why? Because they want the favour returned.
If you think Bojo is a liar, you'll find exactly the same kind of deception right on your doorstep, in your local village hall. You may find they don't like visitors. That is because their version of democracy, is sadly lacking.
For this reason we think all council meetings should be recorded and vetted by an outside police force. That will put the cat amongst the pigeons.
SHOW US THE AFFORDABLE HOUSES - Wealden can't, because they have not built any. You won't get planning consent in this area of Sussex for low cost housing, because there is no profit in that. It's all about money and the Community Infrastructure Levy. There is no CIL on affordable housing. What these councillors want is lots of expensive houses to generate more rateable taxes that they can then pay to their overpaid planning officers, legal staff and executives.
CLIMATE CHANGERS
Not only are this council morally in the dark ages of cotton fields and plantations with white slavers whipping African slaves who bucked the system, but the houses they are allowing to be built are not even climate friendly. It's a landlords paradise, with property developers making a killing at the expense of the planet.
THE MODERN SLAVE TRADE
Financial slavery should be illegal. Our most recent Governments under David Cameron, Theresa May and from 2019 - 2021, Boris Johnson, have fostered the making of a renting society, rather then one where houses are built that any family might purchase at reasonable prices.
Long before that it was the Conservatives again under Margaret Thatcher, who really laid their cards bare, selling off much social (Council owned) housing to boost short term coffers, and neglected to replace it, or put in place any policies that would have the same effect - as to generate low cost housing.
It is a well known fact, that the Conservative Party has many landlords (property owners) as members, and a whole lot of bigger property developers (house builders) that contribute to party funds via sometimes substantial donations. Especially if it gets them a knighthood, or a place in the House of Lords.
The last thing local landowners and renting agents want is affordable housing. Because such supply of housing would compete directly with their own investments. They want to keep property prices high. So they vote positively on developments with higher council tax bandings, as it has the effect of making the portfolio of houses they own, more reasonably priced.
Councils would much rather arrange to pay rents to their property owning chums. And with the Conservative Party in power, whether as a government, or as a local seat, work to ensure that the planning system does not generate affordable housing. Because genuinely affordable housing, as in housing that an ordinary working person could afford to purchase on a mortgage, on his or her wages, would have the effect of lowering rental values locally - and eventually, of course - nationally.
For this reason and other fee generating agendas, house building in (for example) East Sussex has concentrated on large brick units that only landlords and executives can afford to purchase for renting out.
Sustainable buildings made of timber as flatpacks will provide a carbon lock. If equipped with solar water heaters and pv panels, these same affordable units will generate much of the energy required for comfortable living.
Add electric and hybrid cars to the equation, and we'd have very low carbon transport. With mass production of these vehicles, rather than diesel and petrol powered cars, the operating and purchase costs also reduce, hence the borrowing goes down and unearned income for banks and their shareholders reduces, thus lowering the levels of financial slavery that at present is making millions of lives a misery in the UK and other countries where money is for sale.
Banks and bankers will hate it, and will lobby to keep borrowing high. Thus banking institutions are part of the climate problem, making them climate criminals. Unless, they have responsible corporate strategies for investing in green social housing, as opposed to lending policies that are greenwashed. To make them look less like financial slavers.
FROG COUNCILLORS - Wealden's councillors are relatively powerless, being bullied by their officers who mainly work with a favoured few developers to build more of the same houses that contributed to global warming, in that they use fossil fuels for heating and transport. The trouble with politics, especially conservative politics is that if you vocally rock the boat you get the boot. The only councillors with any gumption at all are likely to be independents, where they do not have to tow the party line.
Councillors seem to forget that they employ the officers who have been making poor policies for years. Why not sack the dead wood and bring in some more enlightened staff who might understand what sustainable means and have the brains to come up with a local circular economy.
Transparency is another issue that plagues this council. They are bound by law to allow members of the public to scrutinize their accounts, but use a system to cloak what they are doing. You are no longer allowed to peruse the books. They will try and get you to go round in circles using a computer based system that prevents effective access.
The fact that they are doing this stinks to high heaven. In our view any council that is not open and honest should be replaced with one that is.
ABOLISH PLANNING FEES FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES
One way to boost the build of low cost housing would be for the government to make such builds a Permitted Development, with free advice from councils and no community infrastructure charges (CIL payments).
Self-builds and flat-pack housing should be encouraged, especially where they are timber and so lock up carbon.
Where councils have been allowing building in areas traditionally prohibited, any land apart from Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty should be okayed for affordable houses. On AONBs such buildings should be mobile and temporary pending supply of land for genuinely affordable settlements.
Where local councils refuse to use their powers of compulsory purchase for fear of falling out with influential landowners, the government should identify areas of land where values will remain low. This may upset a few farmers who have been hoping for windfall profits, but global warming dictates urgent revision of policies and politics.
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2019 - EXAMPLE
Tories and
Labour both did poorly but Lib Dems and
Greens swept up more seats in the local elections.
Wealden District Council elections took place on May 2, 2019. The number of seats up for election this year fell from 55 to 45, due to boundary changes - and why are there so many councillors for Hailsham? is it because the officers have some sort of deal with those close to their offices! Below are the results by ward.
CLIMATE CRIMINALS - Every house and factory that is built increases our carbon footprint. As each council in the UK does the same as Wealden District Council, the country damages the ecology of another part of the planet.
CLIMATE OSTRICHES - A typical councillor in the Wealden district buries their head to local climate corruption - making complete arses of themselves.
Hailsham North
PACKING THEM IN - Filling in all the gaps, it is boom time in Wealden, with climate change on the back burner as the go-ahead is given to thousands of new builds that have no climate mitigation features.
Herstmonceux and Pevensey Levels (two seats)
NATURAL BEAUTY - Wealden are converting our beautiful countryside into a top heavy suburbia, loaded with climate unfriendly buildings. They are just as bad as those chopping down the rain forests. But these climate criminals are operating right here on our doorsteps.
Lower Willingdon
TOKEN SOLAR PANELS - Wow! At last we see signs of intelligent life in Herstmonceux on this building site exiting onto Gardner Street. Pity there are not more photovoltaic panels, and where are the EV charging points. In this village there are no school spaces for the children, meaning that parents will have to drive their kids to another location, or a bus will have to take them. The roads locally are a potholed disgrace and narrow. Travel to Eastbourne is nearly always delayed by the level crossing at Pevensey and the A22 and A23 are slow roads to London and Brighton because East Sussex County Council failed to ensure that our transport system was efficient. There are of course very few electric vehicle charging points.
Pevensey Bay
WEALDEN'S OFFICES - This council has virtually no climate change features in their relatively new offices in Hailsham, and now they are thinking of demolishing the site to build more houses. That was great planning !!! They are not worried in slightest about the carbon footprint used in re-development - all they care about is the money.
HOW ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH IT - Extinction Rebellion are a group of peaceful protestors who don't appreciate policies that cause global warming. Councils in England should take note and start to behave themselves, or they have meetings attended by peaceful protestors. Have you notice how Parish councils hate the public being present. The same applies to most planning meetings. They don't want you to see what goes on.
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