CAFÉ NEWSLETTER January 2009

Dear Friends and Supporters

A belated Happy New Year!

I have to say it, seems as if we are already half way through the year with so much happening in just the last few weeks.

Hopefully you have all sent your CAFÉ Xmas card to the DCLG. If you haven’t please do, it will help remind the Government’s eco-town team that Ford must be dropped from their list.

The Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps MP, visited the area on January 19th. This was an extremely positive and useful day for everyone. Grant toured the entire Ford site. He then held an informal meeting with CAFÉ, Ford PC, Climping PC, Yapton PC, Walberton PC, Barnham PC, Arundel TC and Littlehampton TC, to listen to each community’s express concerns.

Grant used this opportunity to stress that the Tory policy will be a return to local communities deciding on their future, not Central Government. If there is a change in Government, the eco-town process would be scrapped, provided schemes were not in build.

You will have probably heard that the legal challenge, Judicial Review, on the eco-town process was dismissed. This is a great shame but not a set back. It simply means that we haven’t managed to cut short the eco-town process, we will simply have to keep on fighting and send our message even more vigorously and loudly to the Government’s eco-town team leaving them in no doubt that Ford must be removed from their list. The fight must go on so keep on writing to the DCLG, the local papers and this blog.

Finally, CAFÉ have been busy working up our response to Arun District Council for the Select Committee process on Ford. The Committee has met once and reconvenes on February 5th. The recommendations of this Committee will form Arun’s response to the DCLG on the 2nd Phase consultation process for the eco-town process.

Along with writing papers for Arun, CAFÉ are also putting together our final response to the Government’s eco-town team which you will soon be able to find on the CAFÉ website

Thank you for your continued support. Keep fighting and we will win!

Vicky