How did Rochford Council get into such a mess about Housing?

A woman in a hot air balloon realises she is lost. She lowers her altitude and spots a man fishing at the lake near Bradley Way in Rochford.

She shouts to him, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man consults his portable GPS and replies, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 21 feet above a ground elevation of 50 feet above sea level. You are at  51°34’47.26″ north latitude and 0°42’22.89″ east longitude.

She rolls her eyes and says, “You must be from The Planning Department at Rochford District Council.”

“I am,” replies the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answers the balloonist, “everything you tell me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’re not much help to me.”

The man smiles and responds, “You must be a Tory Member of the nearby Rochford District Council.”

“I am,” replies the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well,” says the man, “You don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it’s my fault.”

The Government had to step in and tell Rochford District Council to re-write its LDF Core Strategy on Housing and consult the public again in the Spring of 2008. Does the above sound familiar?

Did you arrive at this page from a search engine? If this is not exactly what you are looking for, are any of the following other pages of interest?

1. Rochford District Housing Development Consultations
2. Conservative Party Green Paper on Planning
3. Bins of Confusion
4. Council Officers Recommend Refusal of 330 houses in Hawkwell
5. Protected: Local Election News – Rochford District
6. A Tale of Two Villages
7. Salting/Gritting in Rochford District