SPRING NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2006

There are three major issues confronting the expansion of the town of Ashford, which although not directly connected with the building programme nonetheless impinge on both it's success and it's future. These are in order WATER SUPPLY, ENERGY, and the proposed new WYE development.

WATER
You will no doubt have all read in the newspapers the forecast of threatened shortages attributed principally to the very low rainfall experienced during the past year. Ashford, and indeed Kent, rely on reserves held in Bewl reservoir for their supply. This year it is only one third full. The aquifers beneath the range of hills running along the route of the Pilgrims Way are also well below normal levels. In consequence we are told by the water company we must save water. The existing hose ban is continued, we are asked to use less water, save water, and other measures to reduce consumption. Installation of meters in all new dwellings is on the cards. Here we are living on an island surrounded by water, yet threatened by drought.

With all the new houses going up in Ashford together with those planned over the next decade, water consumption is going to rise substantially, quite apart from the needs of new industrial enterprises that Ashford hopes to attract.

Yet clearly there is water available, but it is not in this part of the country. It is a known fact that the rainfall in Kent is around half that of the rest of the country. The increase in demand has been well signed over several years, but what action has been taken? So far the main expressed intention is to draw water from the Medway river. But that, too, is at an all time low, and drawing on it now may well have repercussions for other users, such as Maidstone, who also rely on this source.

Proposals have been made to build a new reservoir near Canterbury, but this will rely on water sourced from the same aquifers as feed the Stour before Ashford, and draw on the Stour again when it reaches Canterbury. Apart from that it will be several years in the build once Planning consent has been granted and funds made available.

So where might a new additional water supply be sourced? Well, de-salination of sea water is one proposal, but the resultant water tastes horrible so would be no use for drinking. The more obvious solution is to draw down from central and northern parts of England where there is excess supply available. But this entails pipes and pumping and reaching agreement with other water companies. It would also entail enormous expense.

Any solution will have to be not only practical but financially feasible. In the meantime one can only advise put out your water buckets and barrels, tanks, and other containers to collect what you can, and save water usage in the house as much as possible. This situation, already becoming serious, may easily grow much worse! We await more positive suggestions from the water authorities.

Since writing this I have attended a seminar where all five of the water authorities/suppliers covering Kent and Sussex set out the position for their particular area. Points of particular interest were firstly that there is no surplus ground water anywhere in Kent, and secondly Bewl Reservoir is the only reservoir serving Kent.

Portsmouth authority is the only one to have surplus water available. When questioned on the possibility of pumping from northern authorities the response was negative on grounds of cost. De-salination was touched upon, but surprisingly no-one thought to mention that the taste is disgusting, so I have been informed! A new reservoir is contemplated just north east of Canterbury, to be filled with water taken from the Stour.

This will take at least 5 years to construct. All speakers said that reduction of usage was essential, even to pricing usage for more heavy users. Not a very optimistic outlook!

ENERGY
We all rely on energy in it's different forms far more than we often appreciate. There is the petrol or diesel in the tank of your car and van, oil and gas for your central heating and cooking, electricity for your lighting and running your refrigerator and other appliances, and power for innumerable different applications and machines. We seldom even pause to consider where it all comes from, as it has become almost an automatic way of life.

Petrol for years has been plentiful and cheap, it's price only being vastly enhanced by the imposition of tax. Gas has flowed from the North Sea and comes to us at affordable prices. Electricity has come from over 30 power stations, some nuclear powered and some coal.

Suddenly this is all changing. Most of our petrol is sourced from oil produced in the Middle East, and the grade of oil suitable for refining into petrol is sourced only in a relatively few fields. These are largely within the control of OPEC who limit production to keep the price up and thus control much of the market. Events in the Middle East have a direct effect on supply, and political unrest and the measures taken by Western Powers to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation can limit production and force up prices, the effects of which are inevitably passed down the line to the consumer, and directly affect our own costs of living.

Suddenly we discover that the existing operating oil fields in the North Sea are running out of oil, and from being self sufficient in gas we are now having to import. At the same time some 28 of our nuclear power stations are reaching the end of their economic lifespan, and are due to be demolished during the next decade. The government have dithered for several years on how to replace the lost power, and finally are seriously considering building new nuclear power stations as the only practical solution for the next 25 years. So far wind farms are expensive and would not produce nearly sufficient electricity for the country's needs; harnessing wave power is still at least a decade away from having the technology proven to justify heavy investment; solar power is dependent on sunshine, which cannot be relied upon all year round; water power is impractical due to shortage of water; bio fuel energy is a possible solution for some requirements and is actively being pursued but will only produce very limited power, mostly as a replacement for petrol, in the immediate future. Technology is available, and efforts are being made to use it, to burn waste to create electricity. But even this produces only a very limited addition to the National Grid.

As our appetite for more travel, more power, more lighting, and more factory production increases, one faces severe power shortages in the next decade. The alternative is to import. We have a pipeline to Europe which is used well below capacity; we have companies like Gazprom in Russia seeking new markets for their burgeoning recently opened oil wells and gas. Yes, supply is there, but at what price?
True, our developers are building new houses that are intended to be draughtproof, heat retaining, and more economic to run than older ones. Double glazing assists in retaining warmth; hopefully some owners will install solar panels to cut down their electricity bills. Others may install more generators to guard against power cuts.

But two main factors emerge from all this, the first is the government must take a decision on the supply of power for the next quarter century, and secondly whatever actions are taken we must expect the cost of power to rise by between 30% and 100% over the next decade. Cutting down power use, turning off lights, heating regulated by time clocks, wood and coal fires, hot water once a day, are just some measures we are likely to adopt to keep costs down, and use of bio-fuels, small engined cars, installation of draught proofing for doors and windows, double glazing, etc. are cost saving measures many of us will be acting on sooner rather than later. We have to question whether fuel used in aeroplanes will be taxed, will travel by air be reduced by high speed trains (themselves heavy users of power!), will goods be transported more by rail than by road?
Finally will the warnings we are given of melting ice in Antarctica affect global warming, and will our climate change as predicted to become much warmer, and will our coastline be eroded by the rise in the sea?

So many questions, so many imponderables! But we should keep a very close eye on all the factors that occur that can bear on these and take action where necessary and in good time! These do, and will continue, to affect both urban and rural dwellers alike.

WYE
For many years Wye's chief claim to fame has been the Wye College of Agriculture, part of Imperial College in London. Imperial College announced last year that it was closing the Agriculture college down for several reasons. It seemed likely therefore that the land they own would be sold off and the buildings converted to residential or office use.

However Sir Richard Sykes, former chief of SmithklineGlaxo and a Rector of Imperial College, put forward proposals to revive the Wye College as a seat of research and learning. Ashford Council were approached and a 'Concordat' reached in principle for full co-operation by the Council to create some 12,500 new jobs in and around Wye and such ancillary buildings as would be necessary - in short a mini university. These proposals were put at a public meeting to the residents of Wye early this year. It was perhaps a little unfortunate that the presentation given by Sir Richard's nominee gave the impression that the basic plan was a fait accompli, and the only matter to be resolved was how it would affect existing residents in Wye. It was made clear that this was a basic format to be agreed with all parties concerned if the project was to be realised.

Clearly not all the participants at the College would not want to live in Wye itself. Nonetheless the prospect of residents increasing from the current 2,500 to something over 12,000 did not immediately appeal to those already living there.

There can be no doubt that the concept of bringing some 10,000- 12,000 new jobs to Kent, and to Ashford area in particular, is a welcome one. But that all these new employees and teachers should be housed in Wye was another matter entirely. Logically with a large number of new houses being built over the next few years in south east Ashford, the obvious solution would seem to be to house them there and let them commute to Wye. But road communication presents an immediate problem. Yes, the road towards Hinxhill could be widened and improved, but before it got to Hinxhill a new connecting road to south Ashford would need to be built. To connect into the proposed new junction 10A would resolve the major part of the problem perhaps, except that there is no proposal on the grounds of cost to put in an exit from 10A leading north. However there is still time to change that since the 10A project comes before Ashford Council for full consideration in June.

There is an excellent and frequent train service from Ashford station to Wye; no doubt a bus service would be offered if there was demand; and there is scope to build a new car park at Wye. For the existing residents the real chestnut they would like resolved is the rail crossing controlled by a level crossing, the gates of which are closed more often than they are open! The road leading behind the Church in Wye does offer a route to join the A28 just north of Godmersham. This might offer a solution if the route south were improved.

With the plans still very much at the 'project' stage one can only watch developments and hope that a solution can be determined which will be acceptable both to Imperial College, Ashford Council, and the existing residents of Wye.

OTHER BUILDING DEVELOPMENTS
New houses are being built on schedule at the Old Barracks site and Park Farm. Access to the building sites is not permitted, and the Committee have not yet had an opportunity to view the developments. We can only hope that the Council representatives are monitoring the progress to ensure the planning is adhered to and that the quality of the buildings meets the criteria laid down.

The regeneration of Stanhope following recent demolition of condemned buildings has come under fire from a local Action Group, who are pressing for better community facilities, presently not showing on the developer's plans. We have long believed that facilities for local residents to meet, clubs, health promoting ventures etc. are essential for a successful residential establishment of this type. We hope that the Council will insist on leisure facilities such as these being incorporated in the overall plan.
Once again the Council's budget for public expenditure has been curtailed by the government, and this will have an ongoing effect on pet projects and affect the speed of changes to the town centre.
It is hoped that new land now acquired by the William Harvey hospital will afford more parking spaces, both for visitors and staff, now very much needed.

The Committee hope to arrange a visit to the water treatment plant at Bywater in the spring, to see how it is going to be enlarged to increase capacity and to continue to ensure purity of water pumped back into the Stour. We also hope to arrange for an expert on WATER to come and address our AGM later in the year.

Although October is a long way off we are already putting forward ideas for the annual coach tour, details of which will be advised when plans are made. We are trying a new format, and invite contributions from any member for our autumn Newsletter which should go out in September. We shall continue to attend meetings etc. and keep you advised.

DAMAGE TO RIGHTS OF WAY CAUSED BY FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES AND TRIAL MOTOT CYCLES
Last April a meeting was held in Godmersham Village Hall at which many local residents of Chilham, Godmersham and Crundale, came together to voice concern about the damage being caused to our byways and environment around these areas.

Historically, those rights of way which were designated as byways were designed for the use of horse and cart traffic on an occasional basis. Due to the legal definition of a byway, these are now being used by four wheel vehicles and trial bikes as a form of recreation.

The problem caused by this usage is damage to the structure of the byways themselves, as well as damage to the environment caused by noise and general commotion.

Much of the land through which byways run in this area, is designated as of outstanding natural beauty. The rights of way are properly used by many people on foot or horseback, who enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the area, only to be confronted by convoys of noisy vehicles.

Obviously the wetter the ground becomes in the byways, the more enjoyment is given to the drivers or riders whose sport is derived from negotiating the quagmire resulting. Obviusly, the byways then become impassable to walkers and horseback riders.

Nobody would want to deprive those who find enjoyment from off-road activities. However, surely we can find dedicated areas where they could have their fun, without interfering with a public asset in the shape of rights of way through beautiful country.

The answer lies in prohibiting this type of vehicular traffic on byways and in providing suitable areas for the people concerned in which to indulge their sport.