Of course all the objectors could have just clubbed together, got a good planning barrister, and really knocked them for 6 at the planning application stage - if it was all as clear cut, eh?

The planning system is undoubtedly flawed. Bum decisions affect both sides. And (quite wrongly) this wouldn't be the first scheme built on a flood plain. The solution? Lobby on the planning acts. Ask for them to be more accountable. Scrutine UDPs at the draft stage and object to housing. Use FoI requests to see the flood risk assessments.

Just do it - it works!

This article hurts my eyes- please use lower case if you expect people to read what you have to say...

Yes Boab, we did think of that even in wilford its hard to pay for barristers, local support was not good as it could have been,meadows are rarer than forest in the uk, but not as trendy. Theres loads that could have been done if we had enough resources & money, from camps etc. Good that some of the locals are making an attempt & Iam sure someone appreciates what the foxes are doing.Theres loads of bad developments happening everywhere, in the area near this site theres an M&S being built,balfour beatty offices etc etc.

Soz about your eyes,article had to be written out about 3 times because of software probs & the other article I wrote seems to have disappeared in cyber space.

Maybe its better to just keep things underground, its risky for the wildlife to put it on indymedia anyway

Okay then, lets put the barrister or planning consultant argument to one side for a moment. Now these developments and the juggernaut behind them don't start overnight. DId any of you bother to look at the draft UDP? What's the greenfield site zoned for? Or, like most folk, did you not bother until it was too late?

boab has a good point.

You could spend twenty years of your life lobbying agains construction multinationals for maybe no result in the end. Or you could get your wellies on.

No, Boab has a fair point.

Most people don't bother to look at unified development/local/structure plans when they're issued and yet its one of the most open and accountable processes out there, with lots of chances to object. They're advertised extensively in the press. Councils usually hold local exhibitions and meetings (invariably ill attended) to explain what's in them. 9 times out of 10 there's a public inquiry. And usually they draw no more than a hundred or so comments, many from statutory consultees.

Now planning law in the UK is predicated on two main issues; firstly, there is a general presumption in favour of development as long as it meets policy hurdles and secondly, the adopted local/structure/unified development plan is the principle policy consideration. This is no secret, brushed under the carpet. In fact, it hasn't really changed since the 1940's.

So if you miss the UDP, you've probably stuffed yourself. And you can't blame anyone else but yourself most of the time. A good objection at the UDP stage can make a hell of a difference, especially if objectors can club together and get a proper planning consultant or planning solicitor to do it for them (and no, it doesn't cost a fortune).

Nevertheless there's always the actual application which can be objected to. But time and time again objectors get it all wrong. Instead of seeing objections showing that its contrary to adopted UDP policies, we see ultra-viries or unproven objections which the planning authority has little choice but to object to. Public pressure on the Councillors can count for a lot at this stage -0 they're always after votes - but that requires a careful, strategic campaign most objectors don't have the patience for.

Turning to the last posting, I have one question - how many times has the Wellies tactic actually worked? I suspect that we can count them on the fingers of one hand, but I'd be interested to now. Its never worked on any planning application I've seen.

Good luck to the wellies mob, but it does strike me that the direct action/down the tunnels/up the trees stuff does tend to be last ditch, the final line of protest when all other avenues have been explored and exploited.

with our recent allotment defense campaign  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2005/07/319293.html we were highly proactive and defensive as soon as we got the slightest whiff that the Council had in mind 'developing' our plots, and got our act together bloody fast (like, the same day). Consequently the Council backtracked and u-turned after a couple of weeks before their proposal had even got off the ground.

Cheers and good luck again!

> but it does strike me that the direct action/down the tunnels/up the trees stuff does tend to be last ditch,
> the final line of protest when all other avenues have been explored and exploited.

that's why we should be doing direct action from day 1 & making it seem acceptable as a useful tool in the toolbox for people not used to it - it gets the goods.