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INBOX Your letters and e-mails www.harlowherald24.co.uk14 HERALDThursday August 12 2010

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Thanks, HeraldSIR Plan for recycling plant in

River Way, Herald, August 5). Iwould like to thank theHerald forbringing this to my attention.

I wonder how many residents ofOld Harlow are aware of the planfor a recycling plant within half amile down-wind of their homes. The150ft and 90ft chimneys to beinstalled at Vintner House, aquarter of a mile behind HarlowMill Station, will clearly be visiblefrom Hart Road, The Hoo, PrioryAvenue and Jocelyns.

I appreciate this will reduce theamount of waste sent to landfill, butmy main concern is the pollutioncaused by the exhaust fumesemitted into the atmosphere. Theprevailing wind is north westerlyand directly towards Old Harlow.

The worlds first commercialautoclave plant has been operatingin Yorkshire since June 2008processing 100,000 tonnes perannum of household waste. This istoo early to evaluate long termhealth risks. Yet the Harlow plantis expected to process 240,000tonnes of public, commercial andindustrial waste from across Essexand Hertfordshire.

One also has to question howEdinburgh Way will be able tohandle the increase in heavy goodsvehicles serving this plant. River

Way itself is usually one way, withcars, HGVs and coaches parked.

Were any of the local residentsconsulted? Have any objections beenraised? There must be a moresuitable site well away from

residential areas of Harlow.

I understand that Harlow Councilsupports this development and hasalready presented its comments. Itrust Essex County Council willlook beyond commercial issues andfulfil their duty to safeguard publichealth and reject this dangerousblot on Harlows landscape.

Geoff Smith, Old Harlow

More lorriesSIR re Plan for Recycling Plant onRiver Way,Herald, August 5.

I have objected to this because of

the enormous number of lorries thatwill be delivering waste to the town,crazily passing lorries going in theother direction probably taking thesame type of waste away from thetown! Anyway, who recommended

that Harlow Council raise no

objections?As a local resident I have objectedto the additional lorry traffic.

Name and address supplied

Close walk in?SIR With reference to the HarlowWalk In Centre. How long until theyclose it down? A Dipre, via email

Christmas cutsSIR As Christmas approaches the

average family will await with sometrepidation the effect thatGovernment department cuts willhave on their lives.

The only consolation will be thathistorians will probably state that it

was all unnecessary, as the

economy is already showing thesigns of improvement that AlastairDarling predicted it would backedby the improved trade figures in thefirst quarter of this year.

Nevertheless, this is the way thatthe Lib-Con coalition wants to go,resulting already in increasedunemployment, without any signsat all that the private sector willbridge the employment gap bytaking on public sector employees a Cameron promise!

We have also had all the gaffesover school rebuilding, Pakistan

and Gaza but perhaps potentiallythe biggest one of all is yet to hit us the removal of lifetime tenanciesfor residents in public housing. HasMr Cameron really thought this oneout. I doubt it!

SIR Your letters page datedAugust 5 reads very much like aparty political broadcast on behalf

of the Labour Party, oralternatively, a collective assaulton the newly elected RobertHalfon.

The authors of the letters woulddo well to remember that theylauded every single effort made toreduce this once great country intopenury during 13 years of Blairslies and Browns sheerincompetence.

They also lauded a man whosemain skill as a politician seemed

to be the ability to elevate himselfinto the premier league ofexpenses claimants.

This town seems to have had afull measure of Labourmismanagement over a period of40 years and that is reflected inthe high levels of unemploymentthat have been endemic formany years.

It really is time for change andfair-minded people will beprepared to give Halfon a chanceand if the level of his activity issuch that it a gives rise to suchvitriolic comment, at least it does

not come because of astronomicexpense claims!

Oh yes, I almost forgot to

mention the fact that, like most ofthe drivel written, the finalconclusion that MP Halfon doesnot live in Harlow is a product ofMr Cobens imagination.

History will show that I havetaken issue publicly with MrHalfon on occasion, and probablywill do so in the future, but theywill not have the same partypolitical overtones.

Mike Audritt,Hobbs Cross Road

Give new MP a fair chanceFor example, what incentive will

there be for people to go out andwork for longer hours or seekpromotion if it pushes them overthe income threshold that willterminate their tenancy?

What if that happens and theyhave to potentially purchase a

house or pay a larger rent andcannot afford the financialdifference with the only possiblesolution that they have to movefrom the area?

Locally we have seen theConservative Council underspendby some 1.5 million afterpreaching the need for austeritywhen it wasnt necessary.

How many more howlers do wehave to see before the socialinfrastructure of this countrystarts to crumble? At the lastmoment Mr Cameron realised the

value of free milk for children inour nursery schools, so let us hopethat common sense and decencywill be in abundance, when anydifficult decisions have to be madein the future affecting all of us.

Derek Fenny, Press Officer,Harlow Labour Party

WRITE: Inbox, Unit G6 PeartreeBusiness Centre, South Road,

Harlow, Essex CM20 2BDFAX: 01279 624375

E-MAIL: heraldnews@archant.co.uk

www.harlowherald24 .co.uk

Busy first3 months

for MPI

ts been a busy three monthssince I became MP forHarlow and the villages. I

still have much to learn, but itsbeen a whirlwind so far.

Roads and regeneration:Traffic in Harlow has reachedgridlock, but there is some goodnews. Regular readers will knowthat I have campaigned for anextra M11 junction for over fouryears. At last, we are starting toget somewhere. Since the

election, I have worked withEssex Council to secure a majorinvestment of over 500,000 intoplanning this. They have alsonow said that a new junction onthe M11 is their number onepriority in Essex. Also, Isuccessfully pushed for aCommons debate on the M11junction in order to get thishigher up the agenda. Althoughwe wont get a new junction formany years, at least we have gotthe ball rolling. (See http://roberthalfon.blogspot.com). I

was proud for Harlow to openour refurbished train stationrecently. The new painting andlifts are fantastic. I hope to seemore regeneration later thisyear.

Apprenticeships: Im verypleased to say that fromOctober this year, I will hire anapprentice from Harlow Collegein my office. The apprentice willstudy Business AdministrationLevel 3, and will be part-

sponsored by Dean Barclay ofHarlow Greyhound Stadium,and also by Essex Council. I willbe the first MP in the country tohire an apprentice, and I hopeothers will follow suit. MrBarclay has also generouslyagreed to sponsor localapprentices in the constructionand building trade. After asustained campaign, includingsix debates in Parliament, I wasdelighted to secure extrafunding for lone parents andstudents from deprivedbackgrounds at Harlow College.As I said in my first ever speechin the House of Commons: If wegive young people the necessaryskills and training, we givethem opportunities and jobs forthe future. It is about helpingpeople to help themselves. (Seea video at http://www.youtube.com).

Big Society andcommunity groups: Therehas been quite a bit mentionedabout the Big Society recently.In essence it means powertransported away fromGovernment down to thecommunity level. The BigSociety is so strong in Harlowthat the Minister, Nick HurdMP, recently visited Harlow

Council, Rainbow Services andthe Harlow Multi-faith forum, toconsider Harlow for the nextwave of the Big Society project.It was a successful visit, and Imglad that the new Governmentis starting to take Harlowseriously at a national level.

Since the election, I have metwith over 100 communitygroups in Harlow and thevillages, and helped them withlocal problems.

Casework: In three months,I have sent over 5,596 emailsand letters, helping local peoplewith their problems or issuesthey raise. This is an average of62 per day, including Saturdaysand Sundays. I have held 11surgeries in three months, andhave seen 134 peopleindividually. Major casework

victories include securing a newPelican crossing for VelizyAvenue, in the town centre, and900,000 to improve our cycleways along Southern Way.

If you would like to knowmore visit my blog at www.roberthalfon.blogspotcom orwww.roberthalfon.com. For myregular surgeries, please call01279 311451. For a tour ofParliament, please call 0207 2197223.

ROBERT

HALFON

MP