Greens: “Rushed HRA Consultations and Labour’s ‘Pay to Destroy’ Laws Threaten our Green Belt”

As East Havering Data Centre consultation draws to a close on Tuesday April 7th, Green Party Chair Mark Whiley has criticised developers that he says are carving up Green Belt across the East End and South Essex. Today he writes:

Upminster Residents Association councillors met with the public at Cooper Coburn and Company school prior to the Strategic Planning Committee meeting on March 3rd. Cllr Oscar Ford said that they would put a 12 week consultation to their colleagues in that Committee, but that they could not rely on all their colleagues to vote together because Residents groups have different opinions.

They were correct, as no Residents Association councillor on the committee voted in favour of a 12 week consultation period, or a 6 week consultation period, or a 1 week extension so that all members could read through a 2700 page consultation document and have reasonable knowledge of what they were voting on.

The Green Party describes this as a rushed process, working to the timeline of developers. They also claim the council appears to be planning a Strategic Planning Committee meeting during the pre-election period on April 30th, in order to make a decision on whether to proceed with a local development order for the Data Centre.

Where the Residents Association are pledging Citizens Panels at this election, the Green Party says it believes these would be held away from decision makers and used as a reference point. The party says it wants the public to be asking questions in the council chamber, able to submit petitions to the Mayor directly, elected councillors holding regular surgeries, and for residents panels to be set up in local communities that sit with decision makers to look at issues such as traffic, parking and waste management.

The Green Party has also criticised what it describes as Labour’s “Pay to Destroy” planning laws, which it says allow developers to pay into a “nature restoration fund” while potentially damaging existing ecosystems and creating new ones elsewhere. Environmental groups have raised concerns about similar policies.

The party also highlighted the scale of the proposed data centre, described as “Europe’s largest”, and its potential energy demands, which it claims could exceed that of all residential properties in Thurrock and Havering combined.

The Green Party says that if voters want the government to rethink environmental policies, they need to apply pressure at the ballot box. It also claims that Labour has increasingly focused on environmental messaging in response to electoral pressure from the Green Party.

The party says it recognises the need for data centres, but argues that developments should not come at the cost of local communities, historic habitats and green belt land.

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