WHY I’M LAUNCHING PETITION TO SAVE TEDDINGTON ALLOTMENTS
BY PAUL CUFF
We spoke at the last council planning meeting and found it impossible to get most of the councillors to get away from their preconceptions about allotments and the cemetery.
We lost the planning meeting 5 votes to 2 (1 LibDem and ! Green.)
The Chairman of the planning committee was unable to vote as he had already declared that he was opposed to the proposal.
So he had to stand down as chair. The other councillors appeared to have no perception of the needs and aspirations of the local community despite the fact that there were more than 60 submitted objections and none for.
It was a foregone conclusion.
So we have set up the petition to get the council to look at this again.
If we get 1000 signatures we can get it before the full council meeting. 500 would get it in front of the next services committee.
Talking with local residents there appears to be 100% support. After all it’s a local community facility and once it’s gone it’s gone for ever.
It seems to us that a council that boasts about how green the borough is should be more aware of the biodiversity, sustainability and environmental issues.
Their decision contradicts their declared policy objectives.
Also they will have to invest quite a considerable sum of ratepayers money without any guarantee of a return as attitudes to burial change.
Other London boroughs have already adopted sustainable burial policies whilst Richmond is just kicking the can down the road.
They say it’s necessary to reclaim the allotments to meet the needs of the local community. But it appears to me (I might be wrong) at least half of the current burials are from outside the borough.
https://www2.richmond.gov.uk/Account/ePetitionDetails.aspx?ID=211