Conservatives water down Dibden Bay opposition in limp climbdown

The Conservative administration at New Forest District Council has watered down what should have been a firm defence of the Waterside , replacing it with a limp and ineffective response to Associated British Ports' plans for Dibden Bay.

The original motion debated last night at Full Council was clear: Dibden Bay is not allocated for port expansion, the environmental risks are severe and decisions of this scale should not simply be removed from local democratic control. The Conservative amendments hollow that out.

Rather than standing up for local people, the revised motion explicitly accepts that the decision will be taken out of local hands, deferring to the Secretary of State under the Planning Act. Instead of stating that environmental harm outweighs speculative economic benefit, it merely asks that impacts be “considered” - wording so weak it carries no real force at all.

This is not resistance. It is acquiescence.

Crucially, the Conservatives removed any demand that local communities, through their councillors, should have the final say. What remains is a polite request that local views be given “significant weight” - a phrase with no legal standing and no practical effect.

The Liberal Democrats, as the opposition, respect planning law as it stands, including the nationally-significant infrastructure regime. But respecting the law does not require silence or submission. It does not stop the council writing to the Prime Minister to remind him of his commitment to localism, or of the unique and fragile ecosystem of the New Forest, protected in both national and international law.

That is exactly the stand the Conservatives have refused to take.

This retreat is made all the more stark by the Conservatives' recent insistence that every part of the New Forest should “stick together” during local government reorganisation. When it suited their political interests, unity was demanded. When Waterside residents most need that solidarity, it has vanished.

That contradiction is plain. It is hypocrisy.

Councillor Malcolm Wade, Leader of the New Forest Liberal Democrats, says: 

"In practical terms, the Conservative position amounts to little more than writing a letter and hoping for the best.. Faced with the greatest planning threat to the Waterside in a generation, they have chosen caution over conviction and silence over leadership.

"Residents are entitled to ask: if the council will not stand firm on Dibden Bay - adjacent to internationally-protected habitats and the New Forest National Park - then what will it stand firm on?

“The Waterside deserves stronger representation than this.”