{"id":25546,"date":"2021-08-24T14:32:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T13:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=25546"},"modified":"2021-08-26T12:02:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T11:02:29","slug":"stop-this-vandalism-and-create-new-routes-for-cyclists-and-walkers-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=25546","title":{"rendered":"Eton mess – when it\u2019s gone it\u2019s gone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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East Chiltington landscape, where Eton College proposes to build 3,000 new houses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The elitest of England\u2019s public schools has sparked outrage by proposing to build 3,000 houses in rural East Sussex.<\/p>\n

Eton\u2019s propaganda eulogises a new town that will be architect-designed, self-sufficient and eco-friendly, a nirvana so perfect its inhabitants will not need to travel for work or leisure. The profits (a mere \u00a3120 million), will provide scholarships for up to 35 underprivileged children and \u2013 ahem \u2013 will help cover some building costs Eton has incurred.<\/p>\n

Those 400 acres, just skirting a National Park, are one of the few remaining areas in the South East where you can turn your lights off at night and it is black; where you hear birdsong, not traffic, and where the meandering Bevern stream provides a rare and unpolluted spawning ground for sea trout. In short, it is a walker\u2019s paradise; the \u2018green and pleasant land\u2019 of everyone\u2019s favourite patriotic hymn.<\/p>\n

As one commentator \u2013 who does not even live in Sussex – stated: it\u2019s the sophistry of the arguments that really hurts! Scholarships help a private school\u2019s charitable status – but with an unrivalled alumnus network of the great, the gentry and the good, surely it\u2019s possible for Eton to finance scholarships and a large repair bill with a few phone calls?\u00a0 As if a new town in an area just next to a National Park is not going to become a dormer town for wealthy commuters to Brighton or London! It\u2019s raping the land and locals for profit.<\/p>\n

Governments must beware: the Chesham and Amersham by-election in June showed voters want to protect what remains of our countryside, not only because mental-health-preserving green belts are being eroded or, selfishly, to sustain property prices, but also because voters are realising the house builders and construction industry have too much clout in Westminster and our political masters do not have the will, stomach or strength to stand up to it. Boris\u2019s promises to \u2018build, build, build\u2019 \u2013 and those billionaire developers – look set to lose Tories the middle England vote.<\/p>\n

Let us consider: why do we need so many new homes?<\/p>\n

We actually have a declining total population, with both Brexit and Covid encouraging economic migrants to move elsewhere – more than counteracting the illegal immigration from the helpful French.<\/p>\n

Ah but, you say, we have more divorce, more people living longer, more staying single and a greater number of second home-owners.<\/p>\n

What this really means is that many of the people claiming to \u201cneed\u201d a second home more accurately (and naturally) \u201cwant\u201d to buy their own home.\u00a0 This is a very different thing.<\/p>\n

Mark Twain advised \u2018buy land: they aren\u2019t making it any more\u2019.\u00a0 The Eton project raises the question: at what point do we prioritise saving what remains of our unspoilt countryside over company balance sheets and an individual\u2019s desire to own a property?\u00a0 At what point do the political parties come together to work out a strategy that is sustainable:<\/p>\n