Lib Dems respond to Beddington Farmlands consultation

Commenting on the consultation by Valencia Waste Management on the Beddington Farmlands project, Lib Dem Candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, Bobby Dean, said:

"It is deeply frustrating that the much anticipated renovation of Beddington Farmlands has been subject to so many delays.

"While it is welcome that we are finally seeing some movement with these proposals, Valencia has provoked further frustration by consulting over the Christmas holidays. 

"Moving on from acid grasslands, a key sticking point in the previous plan, is to be welcomed. But we remain concerned that simply turning the majority of the site into meadow grassland will fail to live up to the high expectations on biodiversity and wildlife. 

"It is imperative that we get the balance between protecting nature and allowing access to the public right. We would encourage Valencia to look again at how they can meet the public's ambition on this and provide as much public access as is feasible.

"We would also like to see early, if temporary, public access to the farmlands in addition the access given to local birding groups. 

"Finally, after delays exceeding the original deadline for this project, it is disappointing to have such an ambiguous and long-sighted timetable laid out in this consultation. We expect to see this tightened with more accountable and  ambitious deadlines at the earliest opportunity. 

We look forward to further public engagement on the plans as they move forward.