8/6/2019 Letter to WBC

1/2

CrisLancaster

MasterPlanner

WokinghamBoroughCouncil

ShuteEnd

Wokingham

BerkshireRG401BN

DearMrLancaster,

WokinghamBoroughCouncilhasrecentlyreleasedplanstodevelopArborfield

Garrison,bringinganestimated3,500newhouses,anewsupermarket,abusstation,acommunity

centrewithsportsfacilities,arelocatedsecondaryschoolandinexcessof7,000carstothearea.

Whilstmostoftheabovesoundsexcellenttoabuddingsmalltown;Arborfield,Arborfield

Garrison, Finchampstead andother surrounding areas areknown for their rural locations,with arange of wildlife, quiet roads and many woods where hundreds of animals including badgers,

hedgehogs,deer,redkites,miceandfoxesallcallhome.Withthisnewdevelopment,wheremostof

the new buildingwill beon existing fields, hedgerows and woodland, what is the future for the

animalsintheArborfieldGarrisonarea?Isitfairtodestroythehomesofhundredsofanimalsthat

havelivedforyearsintheareajusttomeettargets?

Furthermore,duringthebuildingphaseoftheproject,therewillbecountlessheavyvehicles

andarticulatedlorriestravellingdownroads,whatwillthecostbetosuchanimalsthatarentused

tosuchheavytraffictravellingdownroadsthatsimplycanthandleit?

Howmanyanimalswillsufferfromsuchadevelopmenteitherdirectlyfromthedestruction

oftheirhabitator the increase intraffic,orfrom the lossoffoodchains, causing themtomove

elsewhereforfood?Thissimplyisntfaironhelplessanimalsthathavenosayinthedestructionofsomethingthathasbeentheirsforyears.But,whatisthecauseforthesufferingoftheseanimals?

Greedydevelopersandcouncillorsistheanswer;wheretheyhavetriedtobenefittheirwalletatthe

expenseofsomanyothersorevenhelplessanimals.

Notjustanimalswillsufferthough.AnyonecouldtakeaquicklookthroughArborfieldand

quicklyseehowmanytreesthereinArborfield.Withthenewdevelopment,therewillbeamassive

costtotheenvironmentthroughdeveloperscuttingdowntreestomakewayforthedevelopment.

Albert Schweitzer, a German Theologian from the19th and20

th Century, said: Aman is

ethicalonlywhenlife,assuch,issacredtohim,thatofplantsandanimalsasthatofhisfellowmen,

andwhenhedevoteshimselfhelpfullytoalllifethatisinneedofhelp.Inschool,Iwasalwaystold

to respect life, that life was priceless and that caring for others was paramount. How does the

developmentreflectonthecouncil?Tome,itshowsthattheyareheartlesskillers,withnorespectfor the lifearound them, only trying tobenefit their own pocket,wherethe lifeofhundreds of

helplessanimalsisaminordrawback-newhomesandmoneyaretheonlythingsthatmatter,right?

ReferringtoSchweitzersquote,itcouldbeveryeasilyarguedthatthedevelopmentofArborfield

Garrison and, indeed,the council itselfis unethical.Does thecouncil knowthe full price to local

wildlifeoftheproposeddevelopment?Isthecouncilignoringsuchabasiclessoneveryonelearnsat

suchanearlyage?

Whilstthere isglobalconcernovertheCO2emissions thatwereundeniablyspewinginto

ouratmosphere,expertsareurgingustodoeverythingwecantoreduceourcarbonfootprint.With

thenewdevelopment, thecouncil is practicallyputtingourmassive efforts towaste.Atage13,

weretaughtaboutphotosynthesis,wheretreesconvertcarbondioxidetooxygen.Thisisauseful

process,especiallynowasitiskeepingourcarbondioxidelevelslowerratherthanjustdestroying

ouratmosphere.BycuttingdownthemanytreessurroundingArborfieldGarrison,thecouncilrisks

causingfurtherdamagetotheenvironment,throughhigherCO2 levels,whichwillonlyaidglobal

warming. This,again,promotes thequestion:Is thecouncil ignoring suchbasics lessonseveryone

learnsatanearlyage?Isthecounciltotallycontradictingitself,whenitencouragespeople,likeme,

DarrenRutter

Arborfield

Reading

Berkshire

Tuesday26thJuly2011

8/6/2019 Letter to WBC

2/2

tocycleorwalkmore,whentheycomeandcutdownhundredsoftrees,ruiningoureffortstosave

theplanet?

Even after thetreesand local wildlife havebeen ruthlesslymurdered by thecouncil and

developer,evenafterthelorrieshavedestroyedthehabitatsofhundredsofanimalsorrunanimals

over, the cost to the environment will continue with 3,500 houses and 7,000 cars to the area.

Housesandcarswillonlydestroytheenvironmentfurther,emittingmoreandmorecarbondioxideintothedelicateatmosphere.

Thereappearstobeatotaldisregardforthealreadyvulnerableatmosphereshownbythe

councilintheplansforthenewdevelopment.

Notonlydocarsandlorriesdestroytheatmosphereandkillhelplessanimals;theroadsin

theArborfieldGarrisonareasimplycannothandlethemassiveincreaseintrafficvolume.Theroads

arealreadyinaterribleconditionandwiththemassiveincreaseintraffic,theroadswillbeinan

evenworsecondition.

Furthertotheproblemstotheroadsthattheincreaseintrafficwillcause,thereisnowayof

stoppingpeoplegoingwaytoofastintheircars.Thiscouldendangerthelivesofpeoplelikemyself

whoareusedto thenowquiet roads ofArborfieldGarrison.Thisyear, oneofmybest friendsin

school broke his collar bone and shattered his hip after being hit by a speeding truck on anArborfieldroad.Howmanypeoplewillbeaffectedbyspeedingcarsandtheincreaseintraffic?

Traffic is a danger topeople trying toget to the green spaces around Arborfield.At the

moment,ittakesa 5minutewalkfromanywhereinArborfieldtogettoa localgreenspace.With

thenewdevelopment,nearbygreenspacesandfieldscouldbeasmuchas5milesfrompeoples

homes.Walkingtosuchspacescouldendangermanypeopleslivesfromtheshearvolumeoftraffic

travellingdownroads.Whatisthehumanlifecostthatthedevelopmentwillbring?

The destruction of themany green spaces and fields around Arborfield is unacceptable.

Everyday,especiallynowinsummer,youwillseeyoungchildrenandparentsplayingonthefields,

tenniscourtsorrugbypitchesinthegarrisonareaandthedestructionoftheseplayingfieldswill

spelltheendformanychildhoodmemoriesformeandmanyotherchildrenfromgarrisonarea.Why

is thedevelopment scheduled todestroymanyopenplaces?Whatwill futuregenerationsof theArborfieldGarrisonareahavetodotogettoanopenfield?Isitfairtodestroyfuturegenerations

childhoodtimes,havingakick-aroundwiththeirDadorthrowingFrisbees,flyingkites,tomakeway

forthedevelopment?

As the playing fields exist, there are many houses, including mine,whichhave beautiful

viewsoverthevastopen fieldsandtrees;thesehouseshaveuniquesellingpointsoftheseviews,

whichaddsvaluetothehouses.Bydestroyingthefieldsandviewsfromthehouses,thevalueofthe

housescouldplummet,withuglyviewsofotherhousesbecomingthenewview.

All of the above reasons lead to one easy solution. Only building on the existing army

facilities,onlyoncethearmyhasmovedout.Whydoesthisbenefiteveryone?Simply,itallowsthe

counciltobuildhousestohelpmeettheirtarget,itleavesexistingopenfieldsandgreenspacesas

theyare,itkeepsthetolltotheroadsataminimumanditdoesnotaffectlocalwildlifeandtrees.Thisway,everyonewins.Thisway,thereisaminimalcosttothemicroenvironmentinthegarrison

area.Thisway,Arborfieldmaintainsitssought-afterstatus,withopenfieldsandtreesbeingleftas

theyare.

Keepthedevelopmentonlyonthearmyarea.

Yoursfaithfully,

DarrenRutter

Age16