It wasn’t so long ago that the UK government was floating the idea of taxing businesses for the parking spaces provided for their employees. This would also have been applied to supermarkets and other commercial premises.
This seems to be a much better use of the land. Being beneficial to all and taking some of the load of our energy producers.
Seems to me a close look should be taken at the “Havant Hypermarket” site, aka ASDA Supercentre. Another prime contender for power generation.
I am pleased to see that finally the council is doing something positive about the dire state of Waterlooville centre. But, I fear it is too little, too late.
I also believe the council is being, somewhat, disingenuous, blaming the pandemic for the current state of Waterlooville Town centre.
Waterlooville has been slowly decomposing since the main road was diverted, and the centre was pedestrianised.
Yes, the pandemic has not helped, and yes, the current economic difficulties are compounding the issues. Long before the pandemic, traders were complaining about the cost of leasing the shop units. Costs that due to falling footfall they could not afford to renew.
I would like to know what the council is doing to mitigate the high tenancy costs.
The Havant Borough Council planning authorities have been gung ho on taking business away from the town centre. Following the out-off town shopping model that they have also applied to Havant itself. Both Havant and Waterlooville have been subdivided. Large stores on one side of the highway whilst the smaller shops left in town struggle to keep going.
Making monies available to assist potential businesses to get a foothold will be a fruitless exercise without custom.
The recent change of car parking charges will help, but again, I fear it is too late. Especially now that Wilkos has gone bust.
Yes, you can now park for up to three hours but Wilkos was prime reason for many folks to park there.
After my earlier post regarding a proposed development of 29 flats, I have just become aware of this new proposal.
This new proposal would place 90 new homes adjacent to the existing West of Waterlooville (WoW) development, which currently has plans for some 2.5K homes.
So another 99 homes is definitely more woe for Waterlooville residents.
I don’t intend to repeat my points from my earlier post. Since the two developments are probably less than a mile apart, my concerns are still the same.
This is just the latest in a series of proposals for developments in the centre of Waterlooville.
Courtesy of The News 08-07-23
Once again, the focus is on residential rather than the commercial aspects of the town. Our town centre is slowly decomposing but nothing is being done to reverse the trend.
We need the town centre to become a viable commercial centre with traders offering various goods and services where our already increasing resident population can go to spend their earnings. We already have a surfeit of hair salons, nail bars and charity shops. Although some of the charity shops have closed.
Havant Borough Council (HBC) have subdivided the town by pedestrianising the centre, diverting the A3, and promoting “out of town” style shopping to the west. Free parking there, but still parking charges in town. All contributing to the isolation of the centre. They, HBC, have also used the same strategy in Havant. Just take a look at the traffic chaos that has created.
Apparently, eight parking spaces is deemed adequate for twenty nine residences.
I’d like to know where these new residents will be working to earn the money to pay their new mortgages. Where are the jobs ? Yes, many could be working from home. But, what about those who can’t. Waterlooville has direct bus services to Portsmouth, and obviously, destinations further afield are possible with changes. Similarly, rail travel is feasible for a commute to other destinations, but you have to get to the nearest railway stations in Cosham, Havant, and Petersfield. Not everyone is going to want to clamber onto a bicycle. Clearly, the most convenient mode of transport is by car, but with nowhere to park when you get home ? And what about visitor parking ?
I know, we are supposed to be giving up reliance on our cars. But, really, the infrastructure isn’t there to match the convenience of door to door.
The News article also cites the impact to local medical services. Appointments to actually see a doctor are rarer than rocking horse poo. And just try and sign up to a dental clinic.
Over the years, we have been promised changes that would create jobs, provide social and entertainment opportunities.
Where is the 60 room Hotel on the old BAE site ?
We were told categorically there would not be a McDonald’s on that same site.
So far, we have no hotel and none of the jobs that would have created. But we got a McDonald’s !!!
Similarly, we were told there would be a hotel and conference centre on the Dunsbury Park development. No sign of that or the associated jobs either.
The modified road system has provided a play area for the local petrol heads to hoon about on. But that’s the subject of a different post.
Bowling and cinema complexes have been mooted, but nothing happens. “They” say Waterloovilles’ population (approx 66k) can’t sustain these businesses. So, if we want to bowl or see movies, we have to travel to Portsmouth (10 miles), Whiteley (16 miles), or Chichester (15 miles). That’s not exactly carbon friendly.
It’s time HBC stood up and did something for the existing Waterlooville residents. Force the developers to include the provision of additional services and facilities. How about increasing local taxes on the landlords who allow their properties to remain empty. Might make them reduce the rents, attract new businesses.
Waterlooville, town centre is ripe. Come on HBC, do something really radical. Make Waterlooville somewhere people want to visit.
Welborne Garden Village. That is the name of the new 6000 home development just north of Fareham. The name sounds lovely doesn’t it? Unfortunately, the locals have a different name for it.
Hellborne
Welborne will be located to the north of Fareham and adjacent to the A32 and around the existing M27 Junction 10. And therein lies the issue. After suffering months of disruption on the M27 while the road was upgraded to a smart motorway motorists can now look forward to many more months of disruption as Junction 10 is “improved”
The first steps of this improvement include the construction of a new motorway underpass and three new slip roads. To facilitate these improvements there will be a series of overnight closures of the A32, north of the M27. Starting from 27th February, 2023 thru to 3rd March, 2023.
Later, in March, the M27 itself will be closed to enable execution of topographical, drainage and geotechnical surveys. In order to undertake the surveys the following closures are planned.
6th, 7th and 8th March, 2023 between 9pm – 6am, the M27 will be closed in a west-bound direction between Junctions 11 to 9. Then 9th and 10th March, 2023 the M27 will be closed in an east-bound direction between junctions 9 and 11.
So the works are beginning.
You only have to travel a couple of miles west to Junction 9, the Whitely/Segensworth junction, to see a prime example of a motorway junction overwhelmed by the traffic trying to access the residential, commercial and industrial developments on the north side of the M27. At peak traffic times the motorway becomes a car park, and a pretty scary one at that.
Do we trust that the planners have a solution to this for Junction 10 !!! I have my fingers crossed.
Welborne and the associated works are forecast to go on for some twenty years. It will not be a fun time.
Yet another development goes ahead, driving rough shod over the needs of, and ignoring the existing issues that plague, the local residents.
Proposals for 16 affordable homes, comprising 7 houses and 9 flats, to be built on the corner of Doyle Avenue and Nothern Parade in Hilsea.
16 homes, but with parking provision for only 12 cars. According to the councils own standards the site should provide 29 parking spaces, yet they approved this much reduced proposal.
Why ? Why have guidelines if you don’t stick to them ?
“The surrounding roads are past saturation point as confirmed by the highways engineer. Evenings and weekends are dire as people are parking illegally” So says Janet Rennell-Smith, a local resident from nearby Westwood Road.
Lib Dem Councillor Lee Hunt, not missing an opportunity for a dig at the current Conservative Government, said “The city council is under huge pressure from the Conservative government to build 12,000 new units of accomodation in or city and that’s what we’re trying to acheive”
Typical blame game from the Lib Dems, sounds like our honorable councillor is saying “It’s not our fault, we were just following orders”
Tory Councillor, Terry Norton, was at least prepared to stand up to all that “pressure” and requested that the proposal be rejected.
This is typical of the local councils, in this area, who crumble and give in to the all powerful developers rather that standing firm and considering the needs of their constituents, the folks that voted them into office in the first place.
Our councillors should be forcing developers to provide adequate parking for any new development and to ensure that any such development does not exacerbate any existing issues.
Portsmouth is an island city so is cannot expand past its coastal border. Any development that provides an increase residential units will always add to the traffic and the need for parking. Portsmouth is already blighted by a lack of available parking. Many folks cannot park outside their own homes, typically ending up several streets away. Portsmoth council has also created further parking issues after closing roads in Southsea, supposedly to protect people exercising during the pandemic lockdown.
This new development will only aggravate an already fractious situaion.
On Tuesday 5th July, 22 Landscape Architects and invited guests from across the county visited the West of Waterlooville development to see best practice in Sustainable Urban Drainage systems (SUDs). The 247 hectare site has a custom designed infrastructure to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and promote biodiversity. Rain water is collected in channels […]
It is a well-known fact that many of the flood problems around the UK have been exacerbated by the continual building of large housing estates and associated road systems. These prevent the normal, slow soak away of rain water. Instead the water is channeled away via drains and gutters, moving the water down stream at an ever-increasing speed and volume. Ultimately dumping the water into river systems that never had to cope with this level of flow before.
So I am pleased that the developers were ahead of the game when planning the drainage system for the West of Waterlooville site. I would have expected nothing less.
However, in these environmentally aware times, we are always being encouraged to conserve water. So why does all of this carefully controlled “filtered” waste water get channeled out to sea ?
Surely, if the developers were so ahead of the game they would have designed the drainage system so that the water was pumped away to local reservoirs.
Similarly, I would expect the Welbourne developers would be looking hard at the drainage and waste water management.
WrAnTz 