Greens condemn 'costly expansion of parks'

PROPOSALS to extend the park at Woodstock will be costly to the environment and the community, says Kent Green Party.

Spokesman Steve Dawe has issued a statement about the proposed development of the Woodstock park and three other science sites in east Kent — one at Wye and two near Canterbury.

Mr Dawe said: "Traffic impacts at all four proposed new sites may be enough to make these proposed developments costly and difficult to implement.

"Kent Green Party opposes any development on greenfield sites, since industrial estates all over Kent have vacancies. Councils should co-operate in seeking urban regeneration and full use of existing industrial estates before building on greenfield sites."

Kent chairman of the party Dr Geoff Meaden, a senior lecturer in geography, added his comments on the science park proposals.

He said: "Our experience with developments of this type is that they never attract the investment or employment claimed by their advocates. Councils need to co-operate with each other to ensure that existing industrial estate vacancies are filled.

"If Wye is given the go-ahead, the four science parks will all be within a 10-mile radius. There simply is not the demand.

"Kent's environment can be protected by concentrating employment in brown-field sites and urban areas. Why don't these business people carry out a viability survey before they come up with their grandiose schemes?"

This article is used with the kind permission of The Gazette & Times