Apr 29 – GSD: Government Ignores Public’s Planning Concerns
The Opposition says that the Government’s response to questions raised by the GSD on behalf of the concerned public over planning “is dismissive of the hundreds of people who have signed online petitions or raised issues against the proposed developments being tabled.”
A statement continued: “It is a sad indictment of the Alliance Government that it sets out to belittle the public’s concerns, rather than address them. It is the job of an effective opposition to bring to Parliament the concerns of the public, and the feedback that we are receiving is that many of the proposed development projects are worrying to many people.
“Reading their response you would imagine that they had not been in office for four years. Isn’t it time they changed their tune? Or are we to hear the blame the GSD chorus in defense of their poor policy and decision making for another four years? The Alliance Government seem determined to sell land off with unseemly haste and without a proper tender process. It is shortsighted and something that future generations will only regret. Is the Alliance Government so desperate for cash?
“We call on them to accept that these planning decisions are being taken on their watch by a DPC on which two of its ministers sit. They have the responsibility to make decisions wisely and in accordance with the 2009 Development Plan. If they choose to ignore that guidance, then strong justification must be provided. Whether a new plan is to be produced, and this is the first we have heard about it, is irrelevant. A government should not ignore the work of previous administrations when it has no alternative, to do so would result in every plan having to be redrafted every time there is a change of administration, until the 2009 Development Plan is amended it should be adhered to.
“The Government has had over four years to amend it and has still not done so.”
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