Eco-village needs help

"Lammas" http://www.lammas.org.uk/ has submitted an application to build a low-impact ecovillage in North Pembrokeshire. Should this application succeed it will have significant implications for sustainable development across the UK.

For the first time since the Second World War there is planning policy now in place (currently only in Pembrokeshire) which states that development in the open countryside can occur if it is low-impact and the people involved are working the land.

The Lammas application has met a mixed reaction from local people. Whilst we have attempted to express the local benefits of the Lammas project, some local activists are creating petitions against the development.

To counter this we need letters of support for the project.

Please help support Lammas by drafting letters of support for the planning application. These letters should be sent to

Planning
1B County Hall
Haverfordwest
Pembrokeshire
SA61 1TP
And referenced:

Planning application by Lammas Low Impact Initiatives Ltd for a settlement of 9 eco-smallholdings at Pontygafel, Glandwr, Pembrokeshire.

Please draft letters as you feel inclined to. All letters of support will be considered by the planning authority. It is important that Lammas is able to demonstrate widespread support for the project, particularly as a counterbalance to some of the local opposition.

The main point to convey is that the project will have a wider positive contribution.

We have compiled a list of additional points which you may or may not want to draw from:

· There is a need for a large scale low-impact project to properly research and document the potential of low-impact development as a tool for rural regeneration.
· As the UK and Welsh Assembly Government acknowledges, climate change, fuel security and other environmental and social challenges are amongst the most serious threats we currently face. Collectively these challenges highlight the need to develop tangible pathways for a sustainability transition. The Lammas project offers a valuable means of developing such pathways.
· The Lammas project has a thoroughly considered management plan for the project which, by its nature, will be transparent and open in its practices and management.
· There is the opportunity for local and wider involvement in the project.
· The project will provide a valuable resource of sustainable technologies and approaches which will be available for people to learn about and/ or experience.
· The project proposes a very thorough and reasonable approach to traffic management.
· Those people living in the project should be supported by the planning authority for their commitment to sustainability.
· The project will provide hand built housing which will be truly affordable.

Wider community benefits will include:

· The availability of locally grown food and other land based products.
· The conservation of traditional agricultural, forestry and craft skills (for example hedge laying, coppicing, gate making, etc.).
· A resource of skills available in the locality (for example teaching sustainable design, green building, renewable technologies).
· The project will contribute to the local economy through both land based produce and by introducing a diverse range of additional skills, products and resources to the area.
· The project will attract interest and visitors to the area.
· The project will compliment the existing arts and crafts industry in the area.
· The project will support local schools, shops and businesses. This is particularly true do to the project’s focus on local living, and traffic reduction, ensuring resources are circulated within the local economy.
· There will be local employment opportunities created by the project.
· The project will increase tree cover, soil depth and biodiversity.
· The project will promote the county as a centre of excellence for "green" issues which will assist in tourism.

Thank you very much, The Lammas team.