Dedham Vale Society

noise of overflying aircraft have been well documented but there are other threats – for example theappearance of a grass airstrip within 300 metres of the Stour, potential development of , the A12 as itpasses through the AONB and to those of us to the west increasing privately owned helicopter activity.Light pollution is also an area of growing concern. Imagine the A12 with full motorway lighting, theglow from the Weston Community Stadium and the current fashion for all hospitality outlets (hotels,restaurants and pubs) to be floodlit to advertise their wares and you quickly see that darkness is almost athing of the past!These are all issues I have raised with the Planning Authorities over the last twelve months.All of these issues are exemplified by the Horkesley Park planning application – the noise of vehiclesand a large number of people concentrated in a small area of the AONB, and the light pollution, whichhowever well designed the lighting systems are, will have an impact on Nayland and surroundingvillages. Although the AONB is small, more visitors are welcomed but their impact must be spreadacross the Vale not concentrated in 110 acres. Incidentally we still await the CBC Planning Committee’sdeliberations on Horkesley Park but, at the time of writing, this appears to be some months away.Having been involved in the opposition to Horkesley Park since 2001, I feel I am growing old in theshadow of Horkesley Park!Am I solely involved in issues within the AONB? – certainly not.Many developments outside the immediate area of the AONB can seriously impact the quality of lifeissues we seek to protect – these include:· Glider tug planes operating out of Wormingford airfield,· The infamous fence at Mistley Quay – hopefully the AONB will one day include the coastal area,· The new car parking facilities at Manningtree Station,· Light pollution wherever it infringes on the AONB,· The canoe weekend from Sudbury – Manningtree, to be encouraged but at the same timecontrolled,· The initial proposed Park & Ride Scheme at Langham,· Overhead power cable lines etc etcThe list goes on, but wherever a proposed development impacts the AONB, we will seek to represent theviews of the community to those in authority.Finally a plea for your support – without your input I am blind to those developments which affect youor your community, please advise me of your concerns.Roger Drury16