THE Say No to Mereham campaign has been officially resurrected to fight fresh plans to build a town off the A10. The Ely Standard reported last week that Australian-based development company Multiplex – the company behind the doomed Wembley Stadium – h

THE 'Say No to Mereham' campaign has been officially resurrected to fight fresh plans to build a town off the A10.

The Ely Standard reported last week that Australian-based development company Multiplex - the company behind the doomed Wembley Stadium - had submitted a fresh development proposal to the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA), despite the fact that Mereham, a proposed town between Wilburton and Stretham - has already been rejected by the government's Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears.

One of the Say No to Mereham campaign figureheads, Dr Alan James expressed concern that regional bodies such as EERA had the right to influence such planning applications, and that the criteria for submitting plans clearly stated that any application that had already been rejected would not be considered.

He urged members of the public to write to the Chairman of EERA John Reynolds, at the East of England Regional Assembly, Flempton House, Flempton, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 6EG, and to Hazel Blears, Department of Communities and Local Government, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU.

Cllr Bill Hunt, another of the lead campaigners, has already written to the Secretary of State: "Imagine if you will the shock, the despair and the general disbelief when it was announced that the un-elected East of England Regional Assembly had called for proposals for new developments and in under two months after you made a decision has put Mereham and other valueless proposals back on the agenda. You must see how upsetting this is to the local residents who have already suffered the hell of the last three years. My understanding is that any applications that have been rejected by The Secretary of State must be rejected and not considered. You have rejected this application; you did it only two months ago. Please now contact the East Of England Regional Assembly and tell them to remove Mereham from their list and to do it please right now."

He pointed out that Mereham has been rejected by 10,000 petition signatories, 13 parish councils, the district and county councils, and South East Cambs MP Jim Paice.