Well done to you and your collegues for an excellent march !
Saw you on the telly last night, good to see that we were first item on Anglia and Look East.
Didn’t get a chance to say hello, considered that you were a bit busy being a TV celeb !
We will be having some sort of fireworks on wednesday, but owing to the fact that we have been refused permission by certain land owners, we are keeping it low key and inviting anyone to ’shine a light’ from their own back garden.
This, at least, keeps us togeather with the other action groups.
Obviously, our next big event is going to be the O&H roadshow on Oct.9th.
We need as many as possible to gather at the village hall for a really ‘in your face’ demo as they pack up and leave.
Just wanted to say thank you to MMETAG for organising the march to raise the profile of the Marston Vale eco town development and to pass on my congratulations. It is something that needed to be done to register a collective level of opposition to the proposal. I think it was a huge success.
If you are considering any further marches/action, I would be grateful if you could keep me informed.
Very many congratulations in organising such a great event to-day – I hope it brings results!! – can you confirm details of our efforts at Lidlington – date and time in October and what we have to do and bring?
A great big thank you all, for organising ‘The March’. It was fantastic to be part of such a memorable event and please God, it gives us the boost we need to make ‘those in the government’ realise that we are not sitting down and taking it! Great to see the superb cover the local TV news gave it last night too.
Keep up the good work and be assured we will all be behind you to the end.
Great weather, good turn-out and a good humoured atmosphere. Let’s build on this.
With regard to the firework thing below, I think this is an excellent idea however, it may be a bit short notice for some. Recently I went to a wedding when at nightfall, rather than setting of fireworks, they set adrift 100 illuminated lanterns into the sky. It was pretty spectacular.
We could do this perhaps. Set them off in the village centre one night in autumn and maybe get a band to play some music. It would be great if we could get at least the same 700 to turn up again.
This is just a quick note to congratulate you and your team for all the hard work you obviously put in to make the march such a resounding success.
I hope that everyone realises that your effort is very selfless and benefits the whole community. By your actions and those of MMETAG, my family will hopefully continue to live the life we desire in the place we love.
I have sent the email below to both BoS and T&C this evening.
Thought I would let you see it as well. Thanks again for all the hard work for the March.
“Last weekend I spent the most worthwhile Saturday morning I have for some months – Marching with MMETAG (Marston Moretaine Eco-Town Action Group) in defiant opposition to the ludicrous plans for an ‘Eco-Town’ in the Marston Vale. As we marched along the A421, hundreds of car and lorry drivers on the opposite carriageway honked their horns and waved in support of our worthy cause. Surely now Caroline Flint and Gordon Brown must realise the massive weight of opposition against an Eco-Town in the Marston Vale, which we all know will be no more ‘Eco’ than any other houses built from now on. I would like to take this opportunity to thank MMETAG for all the hard work put in to organising such an excellent and worthwhile march. I will leave you now and return to waiting for a reply to the letters I have sent to Caroline Flint………….
Having attended both the initial meetings at Lidlington and Marston earler this summer and O&H’s ‘presentation’ in August , I also joined the highly successful A421 march accompanied by a fellow supporter from Cranfield. The organisers are to be commended on their spirit and comittment- absolutely brilliant
I grew up and lived between the two villages of Marston and Lidlington. I either walked to the station at Lidlington to catch a train or caught the last bus at 9.30 from Bedford on a Saturday and walked the last mile home past Jubilee Club.
I moved away lived abroad for a while. Five years after returning to Bedford and working at 2 jobs in 1994 I moved out of an urban 5th floor flat and finally came back to my roots-open skies and fields.
Here is just one facet of the argument against a town eco or otherwise
I made a point of attending O &H’s rather weak and visually bereft attempt at a presentation to win the minds of the community. I asked O&H’s representative on the transport development side of the project about their proposed rapid transport system, would it go east west and link with Ampthill or Cranfield and Milton Keynes? Suprise surprise no there were only plans to run it through to Bedford. O&H are hoping that the scheme will be government funded- to begin with! In the same way they were also hoping that the new station on the Bletchely Bedford rail line at Marston Crossing would also be built with Government money.
Having experienced government funding projects which fizzle out at the next fiscal disaster- one should not take this too seriously or be stupid enough to market it as the path to eco heaven. At the possibility of the tab being picked up by the local community in council tax yet again – winning the hearts and minds of the community was fatally flawed and although I had walked in with an open mind and the discussion had been an open and honest exchange of vision and practicality, alas the principle remained- flawed. Why 2 transport systems going in the same direction?
Just this week there appeared in the local press a very angry letter of protest written by a “cattle truck commuter of Bedford regarding East Midlands trains’ decision to cut out Bedford as a stop on some of the peak time trains between Bedford and London.
Excuse me but so far, even in this one element of infrastructure, I see not one decent example of any joined up thinking on any coherent transport strategy! Unless of course, here is a hidden agenda to promote more usage of the Bedford Bletchley link by diverting the rest of Bedford’s long suffering” cattle truck” commuters to London via Bletchley and Milton Keynes.
So here is just one facet of the argument against a town eco or otherwise being dumped between Lidlington and Marston.
There might be another 1000 facets amongst us do I hear echoes of “Tales of the Arabian Nights” only in this case its all of us trying to preserve our way of life. If we don’t we’ll all end up in concrete overcoats!
Thank you to everyone who is forwarding the cause. You have my whole hearted support-
Bedfordshire On Sunday September 28 2008 provide the headline “New Town A Ghost Town – for the time being”.
Consider whether our beautiful green fields might suffer the same fate – do you really want a massive sand-pit just sitting there?
In the future any talk of “Eco Town” or “increased leisure provision” will be a thing of the past and they will whack up anything that fills the gap. Perhaps the developers are hoping that we would prefer anything – other than a mess!
For those still under the impression that affordable housing will be a priority for O&H in the Marston Vale Eco Town proposal – this article appears to suggest a slow down of the private housing market may jeopardise the one thing that Caroline Flint hangs much of her “case” on.
Having looked at the criteria that has been specified yesterday (04/11), which states that the majority of journeys must be made without a car.
It may be wise for MMETAG to conduct a ‘Travel to Work’ Survey, to prove that the majority of Marston Moretaine’s current inhabitants currently work in areas outside the immeadiate community, such as Luton, Dunstable, Milton Keynes, Bedford and beyond.
Q. Ever wondered where all those ‘local’ jobs for the Eco town are going to come from ??
A. Nirah
Yes folks, its true.
That great tourist attraction that’s going to be four times as big as the Eden Project (O&H Press Release 09.09.2007) and is expected to be largest indoor freshwater in Europe (O&H Press Release 08.12.2006) will provide 5,000 new jobs for the area (O&H PR 09.09.2007, Nirah PR 04.05.2007)
What makes me so sure ?
Because O&H Properties announced an investment of £250,000 in Nirah at the end of 2006 (O&H PR 08.12.2006). Six months later O&H invested a further £125,000 and lent Nirah £375,000 to revise it’s business plan, while at the same time O&H Properties joined the board of Nirah (Nirah 04.05.2007).
In fact, O&H are so sure that their £750,000 investment in Nirah will pay off their Press Release (09.09.2007) states that they will be delevloping the Marston Vale are over the next few years.
So please everyone, if you supported the Nirah project, now is the time to stop as the price we will have to pay for it will be hundreds of new homes on our doorsteps, the loss of our village community, increased traffic and increased pollution.
Simple, the Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway of course.
Oh Yes, the directors of the B-Mk Waterway thanked O&H Properties, plus others for their help and support in securing further lottery funding for this project (B-Mk Waterway, Newsletter Dec 2007)
Furthermore, on the B-MK Waterway website , O&H Properties are listed as one of their supporters who have either donated their time or cash to help get this project off the ground.
Why do some many of these ‘improvements to our local area’ in Marston have links with O&H Properties?
Just a very quick note to say how much I appreciate all the effort, hard work, committment and sheer tenacity of those fighting to keep us from being concreted over. In the last few days work on the A421 clearing away the hedges etc has left its mark. We know the up grade of the road had to be done and we accepted this, but its beginning to look rather bleak and open. Just imagine what this eco town would look like from the top of Brogbourough Hill tree less landscape of irregular blocks of units and tarmac everywhere. Doesn’t bear thinking about
We have marched before and made a difference – it looks like we need to MARCH AGAIN otherwise the Vale will be consumed by a top heavy, potentially dangerous incinerator, an overload of lorries transporting waste again (just as we are beginning to get rid of them) and excess vehicles on the A421 which is currently being widened at great disruption to all who use it just to take the traffic already using it! Why should we always take other peoples rubbish when we are trying our best to recycle our own?
Is this what we want for ourselves, our families and future generations not to mention the wild life and the Forest Centre?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
I have read and read this and dismayed that “they” are going to spoil the beautiful surroundings.
My only excuse is that my knee just has had operation so could not join in the wonderful march so very best of luck. Our love meaning my hubby and 2 dogs love the peaceful of Forest and wild life so a very big NO. As I am profoundly deaf, I have had enough of strong vibrations of lorries, etc so a very big good luck to u all again.
Volunteers Always Welcomed. Are you interested in getting more involved in the Action Group in a pro-active way? As you can see from our range of current activities the involvement is varied and interesting from lobbying MPs, working with local authorities to press and TV liaison. Whatever your age or interest come and get involved. We try and do most coordination via email and only meet as and when key activities need planning and agreement. Not sure? Give us a call on 01234 768575 or email marston.moretaine.action.group
@googlemail.com
Stewart,
Well done to you and your collegues for an excellent march !
Saw you on the telly last night, good to see that we were first item on Anglia and Look East.
Didn’t get a chance to say hello, considered that you were a bit busy being a TV celeb !
We will be having some sort of fireworks on wednesday, but owing to the fact that we have been refused permission by certain land owners, we are keeping it low key and inviting anyone to ’shine a light’ from their own back garden.
This, at least, keeps us togeather with the other action groups.
Obviously, our next big event is going to be the O&H roadshow on Oct.9th.
We need as many as possible to gather at the village hall for a really ‘in your face’ demo as they pack up and leave.
Once again, well done guys, speak soon
Just wanted to say thank you to MMETAG for organising the march to raise the profile of the Marston Vale eco town development and to pass on my congratulations. It is something that needed to be done to register a collective level of opposition to the proposal. I think it was a huge success.
If you are considering any further marches/action, I would be grateful if you could keep me informed.
Great march – sure it will make a difference.
Very many congratulations in organising such a great event to-day – I hope it brings results!! – can you confirm details of our efforts at Lidlington – date and time in October and what we have to do and bring?
A great big thank you all, for organising ‘The March’. It was fantastic to be part of such a memorable event and please God, it gives us the boost we need to make ‘those in the government’ realise that we are not sitting down and taking it! Great to see the superb cover the local TV news gave it last night too.
Keep up the good work and be assured we will all be behind you to the end.
I thought the march on Saturday was superb.
Great weather, good turn-out and a good humoured atmosphere. Let’s build on this.
With regard to the firework thing below, I think this is an excellent idea however, it may be a bit short notice for some. Recently I went to a wedding when at nightfall, rather than setting of fireworks, they set adrift 100 illuminated lanterns into the sky. It was pretty spectacular.
We could do this perhaps. Set them off in the village centre one night in autumn and maybe get a band to play some music. It would be great if we could get at least the same 700 to turn up again.
This is just a quick note to congratulate you and your team for all the hard work you obviously put in to make the march such a resounding success.
I hope that everyone realises that your effort is very selfless and benefits the whole community. By your actions and those of MMETAG, my family will hopefully continue to live the life we desire in the place we love.
Many thanks and again congratulations.
I have sent the email below to both BoS and T&C this evening.
Thought I would let you see it as well. Thanks again for all the hard work for the March.
“Last weekend I spent the most worthwhile Saturday morning I have for some months – Marching with MMETAG (Marston Moretaine Eco-Town Action Group) in defiant opposition to the ludicrous plans for an ‘Eco-Town’ in the Marston Vale. As we marched along the A421, hundreds of car and lorry drivers on the opposite carriageway honked their horns and waved in support of our worthy cause. Surely now Caroline Flint and Gordon Brown must realise the massive weight of opposition against an Eco-Town in the Marston Vale, which we all know will be no more ‘Eco’ than any other houses built from now on. I would like to take this opportunity to thank MMETAG for all the hard work put in to organising such an excellent and worthwhile march. I will leave you now and return to waiting for a reply to the letters I have sent to Caroline Flint………….
Jonathan Gore”
Hi
Having attended both the initial meetings at Lidlington and Marston earler this summer and O&H’s ‘presentation’ in August , I also joined the highly successful A421 march accompanied by a fellow supporter from Cranfield. The organisers are to be commended on their spirit and comittment- absolutely brilliant
I grew up and lived between the two villages of Marston and Lidlington. I either walked to the station at Lidlington to catch a train or caught the last bus at 9.30 from Bedford on a Saturday and walked the last mile home past Jubilee Club.
I moved away lived abroad for a while. Five years after returning to Bedford and working at 2 jobs in 1994 I moved out of an urban 5th floor flat and finally came back to my roots-open skies and fields.
Here is just one facet of the argument against a town eco or otherwise
I made a point of attending O &H’s rather weak and visually bereft attempt at a presentation to win the minds of the community. I asked O&H’s representative on the transport development side of the project about their proposed rapid transport system, would it go east west and link with Ampthill or Cranfield and Milton Keynes? Suprise surprise no there were only plans to run it through to Bedford. O&H are hoping that the scheme will be government funded- to begin with! In the same way they were also hoping that the new station on the Bletchely Bedford rail line at Marston Crossing would also be built with Government money.
Having experienced government funding projects which fizzle out at the next fiscal disaster- one should not take this too seriously or be stupid enough to market it as the path to eco heaven. At the possibility of the tab being picked up by the local community in council tax yet again – winning the hearts and minds of the community was fatally flawed and although I had walked in with an open mind and the discussion had been an open and honest exchange of vision and practicality, alas the principle remained- flawed. Why 2 transport systems going in the same direction?
Just this week there appeared in the local press a very angry letter of protest written by a “cattle truck commuter of Bedford regarding East Midlands trains’ decision to cut out Bedford as a stop on some of the peak time trains between Bedford and London.
Excuse me but so far, even in this one element of infrastructure, I see not one decent example of any joined up thinking on any coherent transport strategy! Unless of course, here is a hidden agenda to promote more usage of the Bedford Bletchley link by diverting the rest of Bedford’s long suffering” cattle truck” commuters to London via Bletchley and Milton Keynes.
So here is just one facet of the argument against a town eco or otherwise being dumped between Lidlington and Marston.
There might be another 1000 facets amongst us do I hear echoes of “Tales of the Arabian Nights” only in this case its all of us trying to preserve our way of life. If we don’t we’ll all end up in concrete overcoats!
Thank you to everyone who is forwarding the cause. You have my whole hearted support-
Wixams – What’s Going On?
Bedfordshire On Sunday September 28 2008 provide the headline “New Town A Ghost Town – for the time being”.
Consider whether our beautiful green fields might suffer the same fate – do you really want a massive sand-pit just sitting there?
In the future any talk of “Eco Town” or “increased leisure provision” will be a thing of the past and they will whack up anything that fills the gap. Perhaps the developers are hoping that we would prefer anything – other than a mess!
For those still under the impression that affordable housing will be a priority for O&H in the Marston Vale Eco Town proposal – this article appears to suggest a slow down of the private housing market may jeopardise the one thing that Caroline Flint hangs much of her “case” on.
Having looked at the criteria that has been specified yesterday (04/11), which states that the majority of journeys must be made without a car.
It may be wise for MMETAG to conduct a ‘Travel to Work’ Survey, to prove that the majority of Marston Moretaine’s current inhabitants currently work in areas outside the immeadiate community, such as Luton, Dunstable, Milton Keynes, Bedford and beyond.
Q. Ever wondered where all those ‘local’ jobs for the Eco town are going to come from ??
A. Nirah
Yes folks, its true.
That great tourist attraction that’s going to be four times as big as the Eden Project (O&H Press Release 09.09.2007) and is expected to be largest indoor freshwater in Europe (O&H Press Release 08.12.2006) will provide 5,000 new jobs for the area (O&H PR 09.09.2007, Nirah PR 04.05.2007)
What makes me so sure ?
Because O&H Properties announced an investment of £250,000 in Nirah at the end of 2006 (O&H PR 08.12.2006). Six months later O&H invested a further £125,000 and lent Nirah £375,000 to revise it’s business plan, while at the same time O&H Properties joined the board of Nirah (Nirah 04.05.2007).
In fact, O&H are so sure that their £750,000 investment in Nirah will pay off their Press Release (09.09.2007) states that they will be delevloping the Marston Vale are over the next few years.
So please everyone, if you supported the Nirah project, now is the time to stop as the price we will have to pay for it will be hundreds of new homes on our doorsteps, the loss of our village community, increased traffic and increased pollution.
Say No to Nirah, say No to the Eco Town.
O&H involved with Nirah, whatever next ?
Simple, the Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway of course.
Oh Yes, the directors of the B-Mk Waterway thanked O&H Properties, plus others for their help and support in securing further lottery funding for this project (B-Mk Waterway, Newsletter Dec 2007)
Furthermore, on the B-MK Waterway website , O&H Properties are listed as one of their supporters who have either donated their time or cash to help get this project off the ground.
Why do some many of these ‘improvements to our local area’ in Marston have links with O&H Properties?
Just a very quick note to say how much I appreciate all the effort, hard work, committment and sheer tenacity of those fighting to keep us from being concreted over. In the last few days work on the A421 clearing away the hedges etc has left its mark. We know the up grade of the road had to be done and we accepted this, but its beginning to look rather bleak and open. Just imagine what this eco town would look like from the top of Brogbourough Hill tree less landscape of irregular blocks of units and tarmac everywhere. Doesn’t bear thinking about
A heartfelt thank you to all involved.
Carole Peachey-May
We have marched before and made a difference – it looks like we need to MARCH AGAIN otherwise the Vale will be consumed by a top heavy, potentially dangerous incinerator, an overload of lorries transporting waste again (just as we are beginning to get rid of them) and excess vehicles on the A421 which is currently being widened at great disruption to all who use it just to take the traffic already using it! Why should we always take other peoples rubbish when we are trying our best to recycle our own?
Is this what we want for ourselves, our families and future generations not to mention the wild life and the Forest Centre?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
I have read and read this and dismayed that “they” are going to spoil the beautiful surroundings.
My only excuse is that my knee just has had operation so could not join in the wonderful march so very best of luck. Our love meaning my hubby and 2 dogs love the peaceful of Forest and wild life so a very big NO. As I am profoundly deaf, I have had enough of strong vibrations of lorries, etc so a very big good luck to u all again.
Jill