Between September 2003 and June 2004 sense have reviewed the NSE's development plans and documentation. Despite the NSE saying they would 'consult' with the public there has been almost a zero response by the NSE to our detailed questions. We know from their Newsletter No. 2 that £8Million of the original £25Million is not earmarked for renovation/rebuilding of care homes at all. The remainder, £17Million, is opaque to the outside world by virtue of the NSE's secrecy. You may form your own view as to why the NSE is not prepared to supply further information.

A local petition by 1,800+ Chalfont St Peter locals asking the NSE to moderate their scheme was met by the NSE's (unconsulted) planning application for a more grandiose £32Million scheme.

The groundswell opinion can be stated as:
   The plan, as represented, is based solely on the interests of the NSE.
   Intensive building on Green Belt land is tantamount to a breach of trust.
   There is widespread concern about setting precedents for further Green Belt destruction.
   The financial data appears 'over-enthusiastic' and a knee-jerk reaction to prior mismanagement.
   The NSE's strategy is unlikely to complete in the limited time available to them.
   The long-term care residents have bad as well as good results if the NSE's plan is executed.
   There is no 'Plan B'. The NSE have embarked on a confrontational 'do-or-die' strategy.

Are sense therefore saying that the NSE should close its residential care homes?  Not at all.  But the NSE can meet (and indeed exceed) the legal requirements for a fraction of the £25Million£32Million they say they need and in a manner that can be completed quickly for the benefit of their residents and without harming the environment and the community in which (presumably) they would like to be a part.
   

sense will update this page (and indeed the entire site) as events unfold.