Defend the Epping Forest Act |
During the Olympic Games in London in 2012, the Metropolitan Police wish to build a base on Wanstead Flats. This is part of Epping Forest, which is protected by an 1878 Act of Parliament. Instead of proper Parliamentary process, the Home Office wishes to use a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) under the notorious Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 to amend the 1878 Act.
Other sources of news about the Save Wanstead Flats campaign are a Facebook page, Kevin Blowe’s blog, a Google group and a campaign website. The text that used to be here is now part of the complete case below.
The “Residents” below are 36 people who live very close to the site. This was an issue because of uncertainty in the advice that we received about who would be eligible to sign the petition. These people were approached because they had lodged planning objections with Redbridge Council.
23 May: The The Hybrid Instruments Committee of the House of Lords, which we had petitioned, said that
9 May: Responses from the petitioners were delivered to the House of Lords. Here are the current drafts for the Save Wanstead Flats Campaign and the Residents.
5 May: The Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Commons decided by 5:3 that the LRO was valid but was highly critical of it. They received legal submissions from the Campaign and Michael Pelling.
4 May: The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Lords also approved the LRO, again with scathing criticism.
18 April: The Secretary of State responded to the petitions, citing the minutes of the Regulatory Committee of the London Borough of Redbridge and extracts of the planning documents.
4 April: Eight petitions against the LRO were lodged with the Hybrid Instruments Committee from the Campaign, the Residents, the Wren Conservation and Wildlife Group, David Bowden, Michael Pelling, Michael O’Sullivan and the London Boroughs of Newham and Waltham Forest.
23 March: The LRO was declared to be hybrid, which means that it is public legislation that “affects a particular private interest in a manner different from the private interest of other persons or bodies of the same category or class”.
22 March: The Home Office published the draft Legislative Reform Order and its associated Explanatory Document.
20 January: Nick Herbert, the Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, Nick Herbert, made a Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons saying that he intended to press ahead with the LRO.
9 December: The Home Office received 31 responses to their consultation document.
16 September: The Home Office published a consultation document about a proposed Legislative Reform Order to amend the 1878 Act.
This is a little out of date now, since much of the material has been developed and incorporated into the Residents’s reply above.
The whole of the case against these proposals is available as a single PDF document or as a PostScript A5 booklet (for which you need a two-sided printer and a long-arm stapler).
As HTML (ordinary web pages) the sections are:
The Metropolitan Police Authority lodged their planning application on 16 November and it was approved by the Regulatory Committee of the London Borough of Redbridge on 28 February.
The planning documents, statutory replies and objections are on the Redbridge planning website.
The minutes of the on 16 November and eventually rubber-stamped by their Regulatory Committee.
Some of the more substantial objections were lodged by Kevin Blowe (the Convenor of the Campaign), David Bowden (a local Chartered Building Surveyor), Alan Cornish, Tim Harris, Kath Lee, Kevin Mansell, Michael Pelling, Paul Taylor, Cilius Victor and a local solicitor.
Newham Council’s Strategic Development Committee also lodged an planning objection because they saw the site as a threat to the safety of local residents.
This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.