Month: April 2012

Dunsbury Hill Farm – New Development Proposal Affects on Waterlooville


Today I received a letter from HBC (Havant Borough Council) pertaining to the proposed development of the Dunsbury Hill Farm site, adjacent to the A3(M).

The description of the development is as follows:

Site Address: Dunsbury Hill Farm, Park Lane, Cowplain, Waterlooville

Proposed Development: Hybrid planning application comprising a part outline application relating to employment uses and a hotel with conference  facilities and a part detailed application for a new link road with bus gate to Woolston Road; together with landscaping, infrastructure and associated works.

I am sure that they don’t intend to hide what this development really means but on first reading I was quite happy to go along with it. After all a new hotel and conference centre would not increase the daily traffic levels and road traffic noise. The additional employment opportunities that this would bring is also to welcomed.

However, without reading the actual proposal one is not likely to see what this really is. In their own words …

… proposed development of agricultural land at Dunsbury Hill Farm, Havant into a business and technology park with hotel, conference facilities and associated infrastructure

The  development proposal includes the creation of a new roundabout and potential dualling of a section of the Hulbert Road. In addition there are plans to create a new parking area double the area of the current lay-bys this development will replace. All of this is an indication of the increased traffic that the developers are anticipating.
I have lived in this area since 1985. The survey that I had on my house at the time carries a final comment

shame about the noise from the motorway

Over the years  I have become aware of the increasing noise levels and the changing nature of the noise. Waterlooville, specifically Junction 3 (J3), the junction of the B2150 with the A3(M),  has become something of a hub for the emergency services. As a result anyone living near to this junction will have noticed the increased siren activity. If recent news articles are to be believed the newly opened Hindhead Tunnel is also contributing to increased noise levels along the A3(M) due to heavy goods traffic choosing the A3(M) in preference to the M3 now that the Hindhead traffic jams have been eliminated.
The application pack includes  tables indicating noise levels. The constant theme running through the comments section is

A3 constant and dominant.

What is wrong with these tables is that they are taking noise level reading from a point on the centre line of the A3(M) into the development area and on into Calshot Road & Park Lane areas of Leigh Park. No measurements seem to have been taken from the Waterlooville side of the A3(M).

Yet this is the area that will probably be most affected by the additional traffic generated by the new development.

The location of this new development makes total sense when you consider the easy access to the motorway. Allowing traffic to clear the area very quickly.  However, the very fact that all that traffic will be coming and going via J3 of the A3(M) is going to have a negative effect on the area.

Presumably the planners are thinking that this new development will provide jobs for the soon to be residents of the Berewood (ex Newlands) development on the opposite side of Waterlooville. Did they also consider the additional traffic that will inexorably be sucked across the town ? Such traffic will also be using the J3 roundabout.

I also have other questions, ones that I have asked in other of my posts …

  1. Are there any potential tenants who have committed to take up residence of these new units when they are built ?
  2. Has a major hotel chain registered any interest in running this proposed hotel and conference centre ?
  3. Was the land adjacent to Junction 2, Horndean, considered as the site for this development ? If it was, why was it rejected since there is less potential for affecting local residents and the motorway access is just as good ?I am assuming that the answer is that the land comes under East Hampshire District Council rather than Portsmouth City Council.

I am the first to bemoan the fact that the planners don’t seem to have done much to provide employment for the residents of Waterlooville. So I am loath to be totally negative about this proposed development. However, I don’t believe that the planners have got the true measure of the impact that this development will have.

As usual the only people who will truly gain from this are the developers and, for a short while, the folks employed to carry out the construction.

Heart attack patients receive best treatment in south at Queen Alexandra Hospital


No wonder the authorities keep trying to skim the QA skills and move them to Southampton.

QUEEN Alexandra Hospital’s heart attack unit is the best in the south, the latest figures show.

Patients have a better chance of surviving than any other hospital in the area and victims from as far away as West Sussex and the Isle of Wight are being taken straight to the Cosham super hospital because of the advances services available.

Of course this means that the work levels have risen.

Figures revealed in the South Central Cardiovascular Report show since QA was given permission to use the helipad 24 hours a day in September the number of heart attack victims admitted has gone up.

There were 288 admissions between April 2011 and December 2011, compared to 269 in Oxford, 229 in Southampton and 165 in Reading.

Despite the increased workload the QA shows that patients have a better chance of survival than if they are treated in any other similar hospital in the region.

The death rate for patients treated for severe heart attacks is 5.8 per cent at QA compared to 9.1 per cent at Southampton, 5.7 per cent at Oxford and 6.4 per cent in Reading.

Heart attack patients receive best treatment in south at Queen Alexandra Hospital – Local Health – Portsmouth News.

Berewood Begins


The artists impressions of new developments always look idyllic. The truth of the reality is very often far from that alluring image.

Well, we the current residents of Waterlooville are about to find out the truth of what we are to be saddled with. The new development was to be called Newlands. A sign had already been put up, on the exit from the roundabout, but shortly after had been roughly painted over. Newlands was a truly uninspiring name and certainly one lacking in any imagination. The developer, Grainger, has decided on “Berewood”. A name that at least has some historical linkage with an area which was once covered by the Forest of Bere.

Development director John Beresford said: ‘We will start work next week and by September hope to have the main infrastructure in place ready for the first house builders to start work in the autumn.

‘That being the case, we would anticipate that the first dwelling will be ready to be marketed by the beginning of next year.

Then we will see the start in the rise of the traffic which is going to clog up Waterlooville. Ignoring the construction traffic and the mess that will inevitably become a bane on our lives during the build.

Even now this area of Waterlooville all but comes to a standstill during peak traffic times. With the additional housing becoming available early in 2013 this situation is only going to get worse. The difference is that there will be more folks heading into this area as they head home.

Lets not forget the new Sainsbury store that is being built on the other side of the road from this new development  as well as the new service station. All will be bringing more traffic to the area.

This is set to become one of the busiest road networks in the area what  with three major roundabouts and a set of traffic lights all within a mile.

For the sake of the new development residents, I hope the developer will ensure that there are no new roads which will become rat runs. I can see that motorists will be looking for a way to bypass this area and a new housing estate might just provide the escape route they are looking for.

The development will be built in phases, with the first one comprising 194 homes, next to the new roundabout on Maurepas Way.

There is no new roundabout here. This really is only an adjustment to the existing one. So we will see the initial phase putting 194 homes with this as there only way in and out.

Waterlooville councillor Paul Buckley said: ‘Having accepted the fact it’s going to be built, it will be good to see it actually starting.

‘In many ways they are not our homes, they are Winchester homes.

Councillor Buckley seems like someone who is resigned to the fact that an issue he is opposed to is going ahead. I’m not surprised when further into the quote he also states that these  are Winchester homes.

How does Winchester get so much of a say in what happens in our area ?

‘In terms of the economy of Waterlooville, from a commercial shopkeepers’ point of view, the town can only benefit.’

Which commercial shopkeepers would they be then. All these new residents will be rushing in their hordes to visit the charity stores, the pound shops and the cafe’s.

All of the traditional shops are leaving. Waterlooville centre is dyeing. What are our planners doing to entice the big names, the prestigious names into Waterlooville.

What do we have now ?

For the Cafe Culture  we have Costa Coffee.  For the kids we have Macdonalds. Major retailers are  represented by Asda, Waitrose, Wilkinsons, Peacocks, Superdrug and Boots. Most of the major banks are represented too.

Much money has been spent of making Waterlooville look like a throwback to the 50’s idea of a modern town centre.

Sometimes it makes me wonder where the planners heads are. Time will only tell what kind of hell they have committed us to.

Construction to finally begin on huge new estate for Waterlooville – Politics – Portsmouth News.

Nico Rosberg claims well deserved win in Chinese F1


Rosberg drove perfectly from the beginning to the end of what turned into the best race of the season. I know that it’s only early days but Wow.

If the rest of the season carries on in this manner we are in for one heck of a ride.

Congratulations to Nico, Jenson & Lewis

So, next stop Bahrain. The decision to go ahead with this venue is questionable at best but I hope that it goes ahead and is trouble-free.

The Croft


This is The Croft, Langdown Lawn, Hythe in Hampshire.. My wife and I had a nice lunch here the other day, accompanied by our granddaughters, grandson-in-law and great-granddaughter.

Since visiting this establishment I have seen lots of negative comments on the web. I can’t say that I agree with them.

The Croft has a nice light and airy feel, plenty of space. Being lunch time there weren’t many people in, which suited us.  There is a large garden to the rear with plenty of equipment for the kids which my great-granddaughter made good use of.

The Chocolate Ice Cream Gets My Vote

The staff were really friendly and the food was good if  a little expensive.
The Croft.

‘Extreme’ haircut gets Leigh Park teenager kicked out of his lessons – That’s Tough


‘Extreme’ haircut gets Leigh Park teenager kicked out of his lessons.

Once again the News is printing non stories. Since when did a disobedient child become news worthy ? Since they have, I felt the urge to comment.

The 15-year-old, who lives with his parents at Cheriton Close, Leigh Park, said: ‘It’s stupid because I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my hair.

‘It’s fashionable and a lot of my friends have the same haircut, yet I’m the only one who has been punished.

I’ve got news for you, Master Davies, nobody cares if you think there’s anything wrong with your hair or not.  All schools have rules regarding dress. Not all of them enforce those rules as firmly as Park Community School, perhaps they should.

Personally I think that there are probably other issues behind this story. At least one of the comments attached to the article indicate issues with this lad outside of school.

‘I feel gutted because now I’m not in lessons with my friends and it’s going to be harder to concentrate on my work being sat alone.’

Why does being in a quiet room on your own make concentration difficult ? Surely having no mates to distract you, no mates for you to play about with, should help the concentration.

Billy’s mum Jackie Davies said: ‘The school is being pedantic.

Mrs Davies, That’s their job. Look it up.

Many people will argue that the style of his hair is not important when weighed against his education. In life we run into many such rules and we chooses to comply or resist. Whatever we choose we have to accept that there are consequences.

Headteacher Chris Anders said: ‘We’re an outstanding school and proud of our high standards.

‘Parents are well aware of the uniform policy and support it.

‘It’s always a shame when students do not follow rules but as adults working with children and young people we know it is important to be clear about the consequences of actions and to follow through when rules are broken.’

Just once in a while I would like to hear that parents of perfidious miscreants are actually supporting the schools, the teachers and the idea that their child goes to school to learn, not for some spurious fashion parade.

‘Extreme’ haircut gets Leigh Park teenager kicked out of his lessons – Education – Portsmouth News.

Waterlooville Wally Of The Week Award


Stupid or just cheeky. Either way it really isn’t a good idea to steal a bike belonging to the police.

Leon Spencer-Jones, from Laburnum Road, Waterlooville, pleaded guilty to committing the offence in Waterlooville on March 8.

So I award Spencer-Jones “Waterlooville Wally Of The Week”
Waterlooville man tried to steal pushbike – Local – Portsmouth News.

Mad, Stupid, Couldn’t Care Less – You Decide


My neighbour has just had a visitor who turned up in a van, a skanky old sherpa. They apparently arrived to pick up some stuff. This van only has two seats at the front. One for the driver and one for a passenger who in this case was a baby in a baby seat.

All good so far.

As the van was reversed off the drive I noticed movement between the two seats. Up pops a young child, probably no more than five or six. These vans do not typically have a row of seats behind the driver. Even if they do this child was quite obviously not secured and therefore at risk.

There is so much publicity in all media warning of the dangers of not using safety belts and in particular securing your children. So I ask again, assuming that the driver is the father……

Is He Mad, Stupid or is it that he Just Couldn’t Care Less

Why Is This Taking So Long


Waterlooville, Stakes Hill Post Office - geograph.org.uk - 625878

The Lavender Road shops were destroyed by fire last September. It is now seven months since the arsonist struck and there are still no signs of activity. This was a busy store, essential to the residents of this area. Especially since the Stakes estate has a large proportion of disabled and vulnerable people living in sheltered accommodation.

How can the rebuild take so long.

Officials at Brookton 2000 Ltd, which owns the site, said they were working up a planning application for the rebuild of Tesco and the pharmacy.

Working up a planning application ???

There was already planning permission to build and operate the previous stores. Surely the template is in place. All that needs to be done is modify the original application to suit current planning regs.

Daniel Kaye, director of Brookton 2000 Ltd, based in Chandler’s Ford, said: ‘We have a team of professionals appointed and we are working on submitting an application. Then it is in the hands of the local authority.

Again I say, since these facilities were already here it shouldn’t be much more that a rubber stamp after ensuring latest regs are being complied with. Brookton and the local authorities should be working in concert to sort this out. This should not be a linear process. Why aren’t Brookton and the local authorities not working “together” to submit the planning application. After all the local authority should be doing everything in their power to satisfy the needs of the local residents and we need this store replaced, now, not in eighteen months time.

‘Once we get planning permission, we can look to appoint contractors.

OK so you can’t begin to build until you get planning permission. How about clearing the site. It’s an eyesore the way that it is. Something better that the nasty blue boarding could have been put in place. Invite the local graffiti artists to get working.

‘Unfortunately these things take longer than members of the general public think.’

Try informing us what you are doing. How about a newsletter to the residents of the area. Even once every two months would be better that the apparent inactivity that we can see. Better yet, since it seems you are compiling a new planning application, try asking us what we want. The only communication that I have seen about this was back in September, when my daughter sent a photo of the damage to my mobile, while I was away on holiday.

And, what is happening with regard to replacing the takeaway. The quotes from Brookton only mention Tesco and the pharmacy. Is there any intent to rebuild ? Again, how about some communication.

As a resident I do not believe that we should be expected to wait up to two years to see this essential shopping centre replaced.

Pleas for fire-hit Waterlooville shopping hub to rise from ashes – Local Business – Portsmouth News.