South Tyneside

Would Jesus build on the greenbelt?

Environmental campaigners South Tyneside Friends of the Earth, who are opposing the destruction of greenbelt land separating Sunderland and Tyneside, have found that the Church of England is one of the main backers of the scheme to build on the greenbelt land at Fellgate.

Local green campaigner Bryan Atkinson has discovered in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) documents that the Church Commissioners for England and Durham Cathedral not only want South Tyneside’s dwindling greenbelt to be built upon, but would also likely be the biggest financial beneficiaries of the project.

The Church Commissioners go even further than the present plans for the massive industrial estate and are proposing that exclusive housing is included on the greenbelt; a bid that would no doubt make even greater profits for the church who own much of the Fellgate land. The church position stands in stark contrast to the position of the vast majority of individual respondents to the RSS who objected to the deletion of the Fellgate greenbelt.

Bryan Atkinson said:

“Building on greenbelt land is unsustainable. Short-sighted and speculative development of this nature leads to more and longer journeys by car, making lives a misery.

“The climate is in meltdown and the Church Commissioners are promoting a development that will encourage further car use which will contribute to Britain’s growing carbon dioxide emissions.

“The Church Commissioners and the Chapter of Durham Cathedral want to destroy this greenbelt. The temptation for profit is understandable, but I hope that parishioners will make their views clear to their church that this land should instead be saved for future generations.

At the rate that we are building on green field sites, there will be precious little left for the meek to inherit.”

Notes

1. South Tyneside FOE online: http://www.stfoe.org.uk/
2. The Big Ask: http://www.thebigask.com
3. Bryan Atkinson is standing for Green Party councillor for the Beacon and Bents ward in the forthcoming council elections.
4. Representations quotes from the Regional Spatial Strategy (http://www.northeasteip.co.uk/documents/default.aspx):

The Church Commissioners for England
Policy 10: “the Commissioners have an interest in the TyneWear Park and support the deletion of such land from the Green Belt”
Policy 19: “The Church Commissioners support the allocation and development of the TyneWear Park in South Tyneside.”

Durham Cathedral
Policy 19: “These aims can be achieved by careful development of the land in the Lower Fellgate farm area… the Dean and Chapter of Cathedral and Church Commissioners have ownership of majority of this strategic development site.”

Policy 10: http://www.northeasteip.co.uk/representations/downloads/policy10.pdf
Policy 19: http://www.northeasteip.co.uk/representations/downloads/policy19.pdf

Ends