"Dear 5VPT Members and Supporters

The final nail in the coffin that was Watermark!

At a full meeting of Forest Heath District Council last night, 20 September 06,councillors were asked to vote on whether or not to keep their aspiration for a Regional Leisure Facility in their Corporate Plan -the policy that spawned Watermark.

Andrew Holman, Chairman of the Five Villages Preservation Trust, spoke to the meeting against the motion, and Richard Olsen, CEO of Orion Land & Leisure spoke for the motion. Following a rather one-sided summary from the Chief Executive of the Council, Councillors debated the issue and many supoported us by disagreeing with the motion. Our local councillors did an excellent job in making their opposition clear, having spent a great deal of time co-ordinating all of our talks during the week. Together it was an unstoppable force that swayed any councillors who were thinking of voting any other way.l

There were two separate votes, and he result of the first was only 2 in favour and the rest against, and the second vote only achieved 1 in favour!! This now means that FHDC will remove the aspiration from their policy documents and will do no further work towards this redundant, aim.

Any proposals for a leisure & housing development will have to face the same planning process as any other application. The big difference being we now have the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and the Council's own Local Development Framework (LDF) clearly stating that it would not be sustainable, and the LDF also adds the wishes of local people for local "in-Town" development. In short, it would not stand a chance!

There are still a few i's to be dotted, such as waiting for the RSS to come back from the Secretary of State in a few months time, but we hope this will be a formality. Then would seem to be a good time for a party and hopefully, albeit sadly, a last meeting of the 5 Villages Preservation Trust.

With very many thanks to everyone for all of their help, support, money and good wishes over the last 18 months, without which we would not have been able to run such an effective campaign and, as the Chief Executive of Orion said to me the other night, "We seriously underestimated you!" - to their cost!

Keep an eye out for the party invite.

Kind regards

Andrew Holman

Chair

Five Villages Preservation Trust

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