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‘Keep up eco-town dialogue’

11:39am Thursday 31st July 2008

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Housing minister Caroline Flint has urged opponents of the proposed Weston-on-the-Green eco-town to continue to engage with developers.

Mrs Flint spoke to the Oxford Mail during a visit to a social housing development in Rose Hill, Oxford, today.

She said if the planned eco-town south of Bicester went ahead, it would provide thousands of affordable homes for people who wanted to commute into Oxford.

She said: "I understand people's concerns, but we have to recognise we haven't built enough homes over the last 30 years and Oxford is one of the most expensive cities in the country.

"We need to have an informed debate about the proposed eco-town and we will listen to people's concerns."


Your Say YourOxford Mail

Tom, says...
12:26pm Thu 31 Jul 08

"We need to have an informed debate about the proposed eco-town and we will listen to people's concerns."




How she can say that and not laugh is beyond me.
A done deal folks.

Anon Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire says...
12:55pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Whilst I fully appreciate Tom's frustrations (believe me you are not alone Tom) I do find his comment extremely negative, a bit of an insult to the people behind the scenes who are working extremely hard for this cause and also an easy option encouraging the average people that this effects to give up.
Come on people if you feel these frustrations stand up and be counted, we do still have a democratic society and are voices should be heard!
If Caroline Flint is saying she is prepared to listen, let’s not pass up the opportunity and make sure we approach it intelligently and really get the implications of this for the whole of Oxfordshire across!

babs, oxford says...
12:57pm Thu 31 Jul 08

She's just here to confirm it's a great idea, not to listen to anyones opinion.

ricky, oxford says...
1:05pm Thu 31 Jul 08

typical mp,the affordable bit had them rolling in there seats!houses theys days echoo! everything the nieghbour dose you can hear!huts, dangerous wooden huts!

motorist, oxon says...
1:24pm Thu 31 Jul 08

i avoid weston like the plague,the roads are lethal!what inpact will all the COMMUTERS have on the area...if they can afford to ?

Anon Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire says...
1:38pm Thu 31 Jul 08

At last someone expressing a constructive comment! These are the sorts of things that will impact people across the whole county!
Unless you use these roads or are aware of the daily problems experienced on them, people can not begin to comprehend the impact this development could have!

Rockabilly Dude, Half Way To Memphis says...
1:43pm Thu 31 Jul 08

It's all very well for this incompetant woman to tell people to "engage with developers"...Parkri
dge/Prologis simply refuse to engage with anybody from the local area. They will not attend meetings at which the public are present....they will not reply to emails....their idea of "consultation" is a repeating monologue....even that is full of half-truths, misrepresentations, and downright lies. Please, don't just accept this statement blindly - check what I've said for your selves - you'll see what a complete sham this whole proposal is - and Flint knows it!

reality, earth says...
1:55pm Thu 31 Jul 08

this council,goverments given all oxford housing to the non oxford folk.now they want us to go away !if your oxonian white your f*****!

homeless, homeless says...
2:16pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Don't care. But Caroline Flint is a hot MP.

DanOxford, says...
2:21pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Look around you in Oxford to see what a major cause of the housing shortage is- immigration.

70% of population growth in the next few years will be due DIRECTLY to immigration, with much of the remainder taken up by recent arrivals having larger families.

There are an estimated 285,000 illegal immigrants in the UK- roughly double the population of Oxford.

We hear the same old guff about people living longer, there being more single people etc etc- but never the REAL elephant in the room, which is that we are concreting over our Country to house foreigners.

You don't build an extension over half your garden so your kids can have a bedroom each then invite the neighbours to live in it.

80% of the UK's population (regardless of race) are against mass immigration, but NuLabour want to cling on to power by undermining the country with immigrants who, traditionally, are more likely to vote for them.

We need LIMITED numbers of skilled workers- not the situation we have now where low skilled immigrants are coming in and record numbers of skilled, educated Britons are leaving for Canada, Australia and other destinations.

Tom, says...
2:26pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Anon Oxfordshire wrote:
Whilst I fully appreciate Tom\'s frustrations (believe me you are not alone Tom) I do find his comment extremely negative, a bit of an insult to the people behind the scenes who are working extremely hard for this cause and also an easy option encouraging the average people that this effects to give up. Come on people if you feel these frustrations stand up and be counted, we do still have a democratic society and are voices should be heard! If Caroline Flint is saying she is prepared to listen, let’s not pass up the opportunity and make sure we approach it intelligently and really get the implications of this for the whole of Oxfordshire across!
I am not frustrated, neither am i being negative,i am being realistic.


Do you think that a government that took us to an illegal oil war in Iraq that has killed 100,000 innocent civilians (while over 1 million people in London protested on the streets for them not to),is interested in what you (or i) have to say over some houses, nowhere near where they live?.


As Rockabilly Dude has suggested,it is about big business and lies.


Caroline Flint is going throught the motions to make it look like there is still a chance that pblic opinion counts.

I will tell you straight it does not.









Alan, Oxford says...
2:36pm Thu 31 Jul 08

A definate MILF, I wish she was my MP, I'd visit her surgery every week.

ricky, oxford says...
2:54pm Thu 31 Jul 08

i know shes got the would nt kick her out the bed factor! but new labours made mistakes!ecos another? places are choked enough!now now alan!

jon, oxford says...
3:16pm Thu 31 Jul 08

i think the new eco town is a great idea and hope that more are considered more places are required for living, so instead of cramming everyone into the cities and towns making them worse...why not create a new town and make it eco GENIUS.... and yes she a defo milf

Mr Ison, England says...
3:16pm Thu 31 Jul 08

I can only suggest recourse to law.

Mr Ison, England says...
3:19pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Bribery and money laundering for starters.

ricky, oxford says...
3:26pm Thu 31 Jul 08

jon wrote:
i think the new eco town is a great idea and hope that more are considered more places are required for living, so instead of cramming everyone into the cities and towns making them worse...why not create a new town and make it eco GENIUS.... and yes she a defo milf
why should oxford people move away?theres plenty off housing here just occ give it to others been here five mins!people dont like the truth but go else where!

ricky, oxford says...
3:41pm Thu 31 Jul 08

OXFORD! read the mail !full off beggars and drunks!why?open ur eyes !no help !help people they may change there ways !just flown in from bangledesh!4 bed terrice nice!joke !oxford!

Zimmer, Oxon says...
4:35pm Thu 31 Jul 08

I totally agree with DanOxford that the true natives of this country will be swamped in the near future with non natives who have migrated here as a result of the Government hand outs on offer.
I am neither religious nor racist but why is it necessary for a huge Mosque to be built in Manzell Way East Oxford and others in the city if it has not been built to accomodate a vast expansion of the Muslim community in Oxford over the coming years
You only have to look around Europe, how many other countries in the EU have to accomodated the numbers that we have to accomodate, only may be the Germans, certainly France will generally only accept French speaking from their former colonies, the rest of the EU countries get shot of them as soon as possible, most of them over the Channel to us with handouts, to help them on their way. We are weak in dealing with those who have little right to be here. Yet we are tough with those who have served this country without being natives, I think of the Gurkha's, who have served in the British Army and who on retirement are forced to return to Nepal with the pittance of a pension.
Something is definitely wrong in this country and is contributing to an acute housing shortage forcing more and more expansion into rural areas to accomodate people as a result.
I think ECO towns are not the answer!

Mr Ison, England says...
4:46pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Gerrymandering with immigrants.

Mr Ison, England says...
4:49pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Modelled on Soviet homes for the party and illegal jewish settlements.

Tom, says...
5:03pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Mr Ison wrote:
Modelled on Soviet homes for the party and illegal jewish settlements.
I have been to both Bicester and the West Bank...... i felt safer in the West Bank.

Mr Ison, England says...
5:26pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Will these settlements be filled with Ashkenazi overspill?

What's the plan?

Mr Ison, England says...
5:36pm Thu 31 Jul 08

You know,the actual plns circulated among shareholders,stakeho
lders,government departments.

As a dormitory town how soon after construction will it be before the toll is stopped due to 'public outcry'?

Sid Hunt, says...
5:36pm Thu 31 Jul 08

If it's all about homes why not build council houses?

Mr Ison, England says...
5:42pm Thu 31 Jul 08

There is no financial return for tax payer is there!

Tom, says...
5:45pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Mr Ison wrote:
Will these settlements be filled with Ashkenazi overspill? What's the plan?
If it includes Bar Refaeli i will rush to build the houses myself.......

Mr Ison, England says...
5:45pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Should we renationlise government?

With all the corruption the various departments are effectively privatised.

Mr Ison, England says...
5:49pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Who's transfering the money to her bank account,who's money is she transfering to theirs?

Mr Ison, England says...
6:25pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Here is how the scam operates in the states.

Government reps send 4 billion dollars to Israel annually as loans,a proportion of the 4 billion comes back as campaign contributions and a proportion pays for positive press.

The loan is then written off.

Another loan is issued,pro Israel candidates are furnished with tax dollars by way of Israel and Israelist media promote those candidates.

The loan is then written off.

Multiply hat by 60 or so years and you see US politics for what it is.

Mr Ison, England says...
10:16pm Thu 31 Jul 08

Now in the UK how many of those federal reserve dollars have migrated through the shekel and into the pound before metamorphing into Swiss francs?

Criminal proceedings dropped,D notices issued and proceedings sealed all say organized crime.

Alan Page, Guildford says...
10:36am Fri 1 Aug 08

I see the whining wogbashers have been trying to make this another excuse to drag out their stupidities.

Too busy moving abroad taking up the housing meant for the residents of Australia, Canada etc. Doesn't seem to bother them so much when its them who are migrating does it? Typical bourgeois, like all those people migrating to Cornwall and buying up properties forcing the natives THERE out of housing facilities.

Bourgeois, either stop regarding housing as profit generating commoditites (I know it is so hard for you, as profit generation is the sole basis of your existence) or be prepared to live with the logical outcome of your greed.

The main reason that lurks behind all the pseudopoints is fear of their own properties losing market value as a result.

Isnt is good that so many greedy acquisitive bourgeois **** are now finding themselves in negative equity. "Simply lovely for this time of year, dear."

Rockabilly Dude, Half Way To Memphis says...
10:44am Sat 2 Aug 08

So Alan, you're quite happy for a Labour government to help a massive American corparation destroy 2000 acres of English countryside - in order to make a multi-million Dollar profit - just so long as your percieved class enemy is being shafted? You really need to grow up and recognise the issues in this debate. So far, you are failing...miserably.

DanOxford, says...
3:16pm Sat 2 Aug 08

Alan Page wrote:
I see the whining wogbashers have been trying to make this another excuse to drag out their stupidities. Too busy moving abroad taking up the housing meant for the residents of Australia, Canada etc. Doesn't seem to bother them so much when its them who are migrating does it? Typical bourgeois, like all those people migrating to Cornwall and buying up properties forcing the natives THERE out of housing facilities. Bourgeois, either stop regarding housing as profit generating commoditites (I know it is so hard for you, as profit generation is the sole basis of your existence) or be prepared to live with the logical outcome of your greed. The main reason that lurks behind all the pseudopoints is fear of their own properties losing market value as a result. Isnt is good that so many greedy acquisitive bourgeois **** are now finding themselves in negative equity. "Simply lovely for this time of year, dear."
Oh dear- Alan's obsession with the ideologically obsolete concept of 'the bourgeois' leads him once again to avoid tackling the factual (as opposed to Politically Correct) truth.

I haven't been to Australia, but I have been to Canada, I seem to recall it being somewhat larger than the UK.

In fact, Canada's land area is 9,093,507 sq km with a population of 33,212,696 (3.6 people per sq km ) and a net immigration rate of 5.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population.

Australia has a land area of 7,617,930 sq km, and a population of 20,600,856 (2.7 people per sq km ). Their net immigration rate is 3.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population.

The UK has a land area of 241,590 sq km , a population of 60,943,912 (248 people per sq km ) and a net immigration rate of 2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population.

When (white) Westerners were reproducing and fuelling World population growth, there were many calls to reduce family size to control population.

Now that (white) European birth rates have stabilised at or below replacement levels and developing Countries are causing overpopulation, the Left have strangely fallen silent, as this would necessarily involve reducing the number of brown babies.

In 1984, when Bob Geldof and all the other Great White Hopes set out in 1984 to ‘save’ Ethiopia, the population was 45 million. Today it is 72 million and facing disaster- this time due to ‘rising food prices’ blamed, breathtakingly, on the Chinese adopting more ‘Western’ diets. So it’s the fault of white Westerners, again. Obviously.

I’m quite happy for Alan and his fellow self- loathing white liberals to spank themselves with a rolled up copy of ‘The Guardian’ to appease their middle- class guilt, but not for Government policy to be founded on it.

pete,, Kidlington says...
7:30pm Sun 3 Aug 08

I think your all acting like typical NIMBY's. Fact is we need more housing, so what if we have to dig up a few fields, people need to live somewhere, so lets just get on with it and start the work.

Just because someone is going to lose a nice view of a green field, it makes me sick, we need houses !!!

As for all the comments about immigration, its dull and boring, we live in a modern world where people continually move about and I for one think this adds to the richness of cultures that we enjoy in Great Britain.

DR, WOTG says...
2:35pm Tue 5 Aug 08

Oxford may well be expensive, but please everyone look at a map. THE ECOTOWN IS NOT IN OXFORD. It is very near Bicester, a town with less than average property prices.

There is no demand for housing in Weston Otmoor, as there is currently no such place.

Bicester is cheap. Look at zoopla.co.uk and type in OX26. Bicester is not Oxford.

It is ludicrous to build in a cheap area to meet the demand for housing miles away in an expensive area. The whole point about the supply and demand argument is that the demand is in Oxford. There are three quarters of a million empty houses around the country in cheaper areas.

Rockabilly Dude, Half Way To Memphis says...
7:42pm Wed 6 Aug 08

Pete, wake up! Look at the facts - Shelter (the 'homeless' charity) say, quite rightly, that currently this area needs to house around 7000 households. If nothing is done, they say that figure will rise to around 15000 over the next 10 years - a tradgedy in anyone's book. The Parkridge/Prologis eco-con nu-town looks very tempting doesn't it? But wait! Existing plans for the county will already provide nearly 43000 homes - almost 15000 will be 'social' or 'affordable'. The largest slice, nearly 12000, will be in the very area (Cherwell) where the Parkridge/Prologis scam is proposed! You should find out the facts before listening to the Flint/Parkridge/Prol
ogis scam. Flint just see's a bandwagon to jump on - Parkridge/Prologis just want a warehousing and distribution hub (that's their business, if you didn't know) - oh, and a huge profit to send back to America (where Prologis are from).

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