Ely Masterplan Consultation (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Ely Masterplan Consultation

April 20, 2008 9:22 AM

The Liberal Democrat Group was very concerned that the Ely Masterplan was going to be rammed through without the proper consultation.

We therefore decided that it was necessary to ask the people of Ely what they thought of it before the Strategic Development Committee met to discuss it on Tuesday 15th April.

Ely belongs to the people who live, work and shop in Ely and not to a handful of Councillors who think they know best.

We organised a stall in Ely market on Saturday 12th April. We gave out a reprinted "Executive summary" of the Masterplan with a questionnaire with 23 questions highlighting the main planks of the plan. We also arranged for a large scale map which attracted a lot of interest at the stall. The stall was crowded all through the day with people wanting to know more.

It was clear by the end of the day that some aspects of the Masterplan were very unpopular. Only 12% wanted to see the extra houses proposed, with many saying that Ely had already grown enough.

Many thought that we needed to preserve the character of Ely with it's small independent shops. An overwhelming majority did not want the Paradise Centre and playing field developed as a shopping area.

55% thought that Lidle should be allowed to build on Angel Drove and 70% thought it would be good for Focus DIY and Garden centre to go on the site in Lyle lane. When asked whether we wanted more national chain shops it was much more even with 46% in favour and 45% against.

75% wanted an Art Gallery, what a pity that ECDC action is causing the Babylon Gallery to close.

70% were in favour of the Ely Southern bypass but most were content for an interim solution of vehicle stacking to be tried out. However when it comes to road improvements more people thought that improving the A10 should have priority over the bypass.

Almost everyone thought that the consultation should have happened first and we already have had letters thanking us for explaining and consulting with local residents.

If you would like a copy of the results, please email webmaster@secambslibdems.org.uk