[milton-chat] Hedley Court

[Mike]

Dear All

I apologise for intruding on the time of those of you who will have
received this  from your own "Service" sources.  But in view of our
neighbours in Waterbeach, I make no apology for asking you to take a
moment to read the article at the bottom of this e mail concerning Hedley
Court and if you feel as I do taking a moment to put forward your name to
Downing Street using the internet link which follows.

The link is:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Headley/

.......and follow the instructions.


The original message which brought the matter to my attention follows:


 " For those of you who are not eligible to vote on 10 Downing Street
e-petitions (or who would not want to), my apologies.
However, time is of the essence, and a "mass mailing" is the quickest way
to spread the message.

SSAFA are buying a house close to Headley Court so that the relatives of
the wounded and injured servicemen and women being treated there will have
somewhere to stay, making it easier to visit and support them through
their recovery.  Unfortunately, around 100 local residents have submitted
strong objections (See excerpt below).


>From the Daily Mail:

The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, which has applied
to the local council to to make some alterations at the property,
including installing a wheelchair ramp, had been hoping for no objections.
 After all, Headley Court had been part of the area for more than 60
years.  But residents apparently do mind.  They have flooded the council
with almost 100 letters of protest, raising every conceivable objection to
the new property being used to house families visiting soldiers.  They
claimed 'additional noise' and 'huge amount of additional traffic' would
ruin the peace of the private lane and warned that the value of their
multi-million-pound properties would plummet.  The families 'would not be
welcome', they said, and their arrival could 'destroy the character' of
the area.  One resident even objected on security grounds, claiming the
house could become a terrorist target, while another suggested wheelchairs
would present a fire hazard.  Planners at Mole Valley District Council
will consider the case on August 1 but last night serving soldiers made
their views clear.

One Army officer recently returned from Iraq told the Mail:

"They make me sick. It's just staggeringly selfish.  Perhaps these people
would care to come out to the field hospital in Basra and tell some young
soldier having his leg amputated after a [bomb] attack exactly why his
family isn't worthy to rub shoulders with this bunch in their Surrey
village.  Who do they think they are? Do they have the slightest clue
about the sacrifices-young soldiers make on their behalf every day? Shame
on them."

SSAFA spokesman Athol Hendry said: "These people should be ashamed of
themselves.  This level of hostility is incredibly disappointing and
frankly astonishing.  If you've just got back from risking your life in
Iraq, you've lost two legs and you learn your young family are not welcome
near the hospital where you're being treated - what kind of a message is
that?"

When the Mail tried to speak to residents, none would be quoted