At first, we thought he was taking us to task for getting it wrong - but then we realised we were merely guilty by association.
Councillor Roger Gambba-Jones wrote:
"I read with some surprise the inaccurate blog comments regarding the Local Development Framework and was intending to set the record straight based on the reasonable assumption that those outside of the process can be forgiven for not understanding some of the challenges involved in producing this highly complex and detailed document.
"However, I now see that much of the comment included in your blog, is a direct quote from an 'official' entry on the Boston Borough Council website, so I will need to choose my words extremely carefully!
"The new government has made clear its intentions regarding the LDF process - scrap it! However a replacement of some sorts will be needed, as the alternative is mayhem and a development free-for-all in both our districts. Therefore, given such an assumption there would still be clear advantages to both council in pursuing this work jointly.
"The Local Development Framework is NOT a government initiative. It is a replacement for what was previously and may soon become again, the Local Plan.
"The LDF is not a service. It is a planning document produced by the planning policy unit of the council - no more no less.
"The 'service' bit comes when you apply the policies contained in the LDF; it's called development control and there is no suggestion of merging this as part of this work.
"The joint working between South Holland and Boston Borough is not a merging of a 'service' or anything else that might be seen as a day to day function of the two councils. The joint working will be between equal partners and will focus on the work required to collect evidence.
"This evidence is needed to demonstrate that development of a particular type is both suitable and sustainable in a particular location and this will be tested by a public examination at some point in the future - just as the document produced by Local Plan process was.
"Collecting planning evidence is a time consuming and expensive exercise - witness the cost of producing the Strategic Flood Risk Assessments that both councils currently use and have recently updated. If we can work together in order to produce this evidence, we believe that we can achieve substantial savings for both our councils.
"Even if, by working together, we do no more than produce the evidence required, there are potentially significant savings to be made. If we could actually go to the next stage of producing a joint document, be it an LDF or a Local Plan, then the savings for both councils would be even greater. Public Inquires for this sort of work are costly and time consuming affairs.
"To summarise:
"The LDF is not a government initiative
"The LDF process is not a council service
"Producing a joint LDF document does not equate to the merging of any type of council service.
"Finally, whatever local animosities (as alluded to in your blog) might exist outside of the two councils, South Holland District Council is committed to seeking the best and most cost effective way to maintain council services whilst keeping the cost to the tax payer as low as possible. We have much in common with our neighbours in Boston Borough and I believe that we can work well together, as equal partners, to deliver a document that will benefit both councils in the long term."
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