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Civic award pays tribute to Hilary Moorby
Tribute has been paid to Dr Hilary Moorby, a former chairman of CPRE Kent, at an awards ceremony.
Hilary, who was one of our most passionate and devoted campaigners, passed away in March but was remembered at Ashford Borough Council’s second civic awards ceremony, held on Thursday, July 5, at Chart Hills Golf Club, Biddenden.
The event highlighted the efforts of 12 of the borough’s ‘heroes and heroines’ who had worked to make their community a better place in which to live.
The civic awards were launched in 2012 to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as “Ashford’s opportunity to honour local people who had helped others in a voluntary capacity, in their own way, at a local level”.
A council spokesman said: “In every corner of the borough there are people who are quietly remarkable.
“There are people who possess great strength of character, who make a substantial contribution to their community, people who enrich the lives of others and improve where they live.
“There are also people who have made a huge personal sacrifice in order to achieve something fantastic. These people are largely unrecognised – until now.”
Hilary’s civic award, made from glass and granite, was picked up by her husband, Professor Jeff Moorby, after the following tribute had been made:
“Our last award tonight is one that is slightly different. It’s for someone who set up a village society and was a champion of all things green.
“An active member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, amongst many other things she fought hard for conservation fields between Ashford and Kingsnorth and she planned and executed a community orchard to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.
“The difference about this award is that Hilary is, sadly, no longer with us, but the Honours & Awards Board felt strongly that, had Hilary still been alive, she would have been an obvious contender for an award.
“That she was nominated, posthumously, is a tribute to her ongoing influence and passion, and recognises the difference she made to her village and to the borough.”
We at CPRE Kent echo wholeheartedly those sentiments.
Monday, July 16, 2018
- A number of important documents have yet to emerge. For example, a rigorous transport plan and a finalised air-quality assessment. The latter is critical given that allocations at Teynham will feed extra traffic into AQMAs.
- There seems to be no coherent plan for infrastructure delivery – a key component of the plan given the allocations being proposed near the already crowded Junction 7.
- There seems to have been little or no cooperation with neighbouring boroughs or even parish councils within Swale itself.
The removal of a second consultation might have been understandable if this final version of the plan were similar to that being talked about at the beginning of the consultation process. It is, however, radically different in the following ways:
- There has been a major shift in the balance of housing allocations, away from the west of the borough over to the east, especially around the historic town of Faversham. This is a move that raises many concerns.
- A new large allocation, with accompanying A2 bypass, has appeared around Teynham and Lynsted, to which we are objecting.
- Housing allocations in the AONB around Neames Forstal that were judged “unsuitable” by the council’s own officers have now appeared as part of the housing numbers.
- Most of the housing allocations being proposed are on greenfield sites, many of them on Grade 1 agricultural land – a point to which we are strongly objecting.
Concerns about the rush to submit the plan
The haste with which the plan is being prepared is especially worrying given the concentration of housing in Faversham. If the town is to take a large amount of new housing, it is imperative that the policies concerning the area are carefully worked out to preserve, as far as possible, the unique nature of the town. The rush to submit the plan is likely to prove detrimental.
As Swale does not have a five-year land housing supply, it is open to speculative development proposals, many of which would run counter to the ideas contained in the current plan. Some are already appearing. This is a common situation, and one that, doubtless, is a reason behind Swale’s haste.
Our overriding fear, however, is that this emphasis on haste is ultimately going to prove counterproductive. This is because it is our view that the plan, in its current form, is unlikely to pass independent examination. We are urging Swale to listen to and act upon the comments being made about the plan and to return the plan to the council with appropriate modifications before submitting it to the Secretary of State.
Essentially, this means treating the current consultation not as the final one but as the ‘lost’ second consultation.
The consultation ends on Friday 30 April and we strongly urge residents to make their opinions known if they have not already done so.
Further information
