What a disgustingly pitched campaign!
Here is my response which was sent to their email address:
I know not what your motives are but I can guess they are less than honest and are also personal.
The website and information contained is wrong on many counts both factually and morally and you should be ashamed of the scaremongering campaign you have started.
Let’s take the front page of this site one piece at a time:
To question the public spending by Wakefield Council. Wakefield council are NOT funding this development!
This proposed development has not been widely publicised This development has been widely reported in the press it has also been the subject of a public forum in which local residents were invited to attend and discuss the development with Yorkcourt Properties and other parties. The plans for the development were on display for all to see.
The plans are also due to be displayed for a number of weeks in the Ridings Centre.
The Outline Planning permission has been lodged via the normal channels for such a development and as such there has been notification in the press.
The council’s planning office has been open to letters and messages of objection and support in the normal way.
Wakefield Trinity's involvement in the plans has brought a huge amount of extra publicity via a number of high profile publications such as The Wakefield Express and the Yorkshire Evening Post.
A number of local politicians have spoken openly about their views in a number of public forums.
This hardly fits your description of "not being widely publicised!
This development includes 24 hour distribution centres, industrial units, offices, a hotel and fast food chains You quote these buildings and businesses as though they were a bad thing, in what way?
Does this District of Wakefield really need more industrial units, hotels and fast food chains? We certainly do need these businesses and the JOB OPPORTUNITIES that they will bring, something which you have conveniently omitted from your list. The number of permanent jobs to be created by this development is approx 2,000 to 2,500. I ask you, in these times of financial meltdown, with families carrying record amounts of debt, with little prospect of any kind of relief or help and with people losing their homes due to lack of employment opportunities how can you in good conscience oppose this development and the prospects of a new beginning it will bring to many families across the district.
Especially at the expense of Green Belt land, open fields, thousands of trees, hedgerows, wildlife and cycling / walking pathways? This is wrong on so many counts that it is almost criminal that you have put it in writing!
The area of land in question is the former Newmarket Colliery site; it is a fly tipping hot spot and is very much unkempt at best. It certainly isn't the wildlife Shangri-La or
hive of leisure activity that you try to describe. You also conveniently fail to mention that the net result of this development will be an INCREASE IN GREEN BELT LAND! You fail to make mention of the almost universal backing for the development by the many Wildlife, Heritage and Conservation organisations who have studied the plans in detail.
In your satellite map you make mention of Aberford Rd as the
"MAIN RD TO THIS DEVELOPMENT" which is wrong as well you know. This development will be serviced by the M62 with access road being constructed and improved so as to avoid any build up of traffic. You also fail to mention the developer’s plans to improve existing roads, some of which are currently accident black spots. There is also no mention of the restrictions for commercial traffic which are to be set in place regarding access to roads which lead to residential areas.
I urge anyone who visits this site to take the time and make the effort to read the plans for this development before forming their opinions based on this websites skewed version of the facts.
I also ask that the owner of this website to show this message on the site! I do this in the interests of fairness and also to allow those who might see this website the chance to make their decisions of objection or support based on fact and not innuendo, scaremongering and distorted half truths.
