Purpose of a public debate on eco-town proposals at Ford

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"We have resolved to carry out this independent inquiry in order to bring the evidence about Ford out into the open so it can be debated in public.

We are concerned at the extremely short period of time allocated by the Government for their 'so-called consultation', and that as judge and jury of this issue they seem unprepared to put forward their evidence into the public domain.

Unlike the Government, we have the courage to invite people to come forward with evidence that can be discussed in public. We shall then submit these findings as part of the consultation and we expect that these findings be taken into account fully before the final decision on eco-towns is made.

The Council alone has collected considerable evidence over the past three years that showed the Ford site was not the most sustainable in Arun."

Cllr. Mrs G. Brown, Leader of the Council

This public investigation will involve calling for evidence to be heard from, most pertinently, the promoters of the two proposed schemes at Ford. Key stakeholders, such as the Highways Authority, Water Authorities, Primary Care Trust etc. will be invited to attend and participate in the examination of the sustainability 'credentials' of both schemes.

Local residents and businesses will also be approached to give evidence. In addition, Government ministers are to be invited by the Council to come and observe the findings of the Select Committee enquiry to see what a real community consultation process looks like.