English Heritage condemns handling of Ely bypass project
January 11, 2012 11:11 AM
Originally published by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats
English Heritage has condemned the handling of the controversial Ely bypass project expressing grave concerns that the historic setting of the city's Cathedral has not been given proper consideration.
The organisation, which is the main advisor to the government on heritage matters, has expressed worries over how the project has been dealt with so far by Cambridgeshire Conservatives.
It attacked the lack of information in the public consultation, lack of analysis to support decision making and the infrequent consultation with English Heritage.
The charity's East of England Planning Director, Greg Luton warned: "If this is to continue, there is a strong likelihood that any Inspector examining the proposal would consider the historic environment has been given inadequate consideration in the process."
English Heritage has spoken out as Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats prepare to call in the Tory-run Cabinet's decision to press ahead with the multi million pound bypass plan.
The decision will be challenged by the Lib Dems at tomorrow's (Thursday, January 12) meeting of the county council's Enterprise, Growth and Community Infrastructure Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor Nigel Bell, (pictured) who represents Ely North and East on the county council and called in the decision, said: "English Heritage has echoed our fears over the irreversible damage this project will do to the historic city of Ely and views of its magnificent cathedral.
"Clearly, the Tories have not thought this through or carried out the essential work to show how it will impact on Ely's historic setting. This is incredibly worrying and shows a real lack of understanding of the city and its valuable heritage."
Mr Luton's condemnation came in letters to Cambridgeshire County Council Leader, Nick Clarke and East Cambridgeshire District Council Leader, Peter Moakes.
He told Cllr Moakes: "The public consultation carried out in October 2011 included no assessment of impact on cultural heritage, no visualisations to understanding the impact of the proposals, no assessment of noise, no up-to-date origin/destination traffic survey and only a diagrammatic, two-dimensional map on which the consultees were expected to make their judgment.
"We also noted that after many years of relatively slow consideration, the project is now moving at a rapid pace. At some stage the scheme will be exposed to detailed public scrutiny and it will be in everyone's interest to ensure that the preferred solution has robust data to support it."
And he warned Cllr Clarke: "In the case of Ely and the Cathedral the topography is of great significance and their setting extends for a considerable distance over the adjacent fens, as captured in the description of the Cathedral as 'the ship of the fens.' While there have been changes over time to this setting, it remains a major contributor to the significance of both the historic city and the Cathedral, especially on their east, south east and southern sides. Changes to this setting therefore have the potential to harm the significance of both historic assets."
Kevin Wilkins, Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet Member for Planning, Enterprise and Environment said: "This project involves building a massive concrete structure 40 feet up in the air which will block the views of this great cathedral and destroy a valuable stretch of historic fenland.
"English Heritage has given a very timely warning about the impact this project will have on Ely. I hope the Tories take the charity's concerns on board before they are responsible for destroying a unique heritage site."
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