Category: Planning & Environment

Village’s struggle enters European stage – Portsmouth News


THE plight of villagers in Hambledon will be taken to Brussels following the visit of an influential Member of the European Parliament

What’s has this got to do with Brussels and the EU ?

While it is nice to know that one of our MEPs, Richard Ashworth, is taking an interest I fail to see how the EU can be involved.

This is part of a wider UK issue, much of which has been caused by lack of action by our local and national authorities.

Central government has systematically cut or removed funding for many of the organisations responsible for managing our environment. The net of this is a reduction in manpower leading to works, that have been carried out for hundreds of years, remaining undone.

Add to this the idiotic planning approvals that have seen homes built on flood plains and the huge developments in general that are replacing open ground, which can absorb water, with houses and roads which do not absorb water but cause accelerated run off.

These are local issues which should be dealt with at a local, to the UK, level. This is not a European issue.

Right now, we should be curtailing the sending of UK funds to foreign countries. That money should be spent to resolve local UK issues.

Village’s struggle enters European stage – Portsmouth News.

Fears over future of field at centre of three Hampshire villages


Fears over future of field at centre of three Hampshire villages – Portsmouth News.

The developers are out for one thing and one thing only, to line their own pockets and the sad thing is that our local planners are letting them get away with it. Taylor Wimpey are threatening to build 220 new homes on a beautiful piece of countryside just a short distance away  from an existing development of 275 homes.
Lynn McIver, speaking for Taylor Wimpey, has said

 ‘We are confident that this scheme will provide an attractive and sustainable development of much-needed housing in the area, as well as delivering affordable housing for local people.’

Decimating our local heritage, our beautiful countryside is never “attractive”. Hampshire is being eroded, one plot, one field, one farm at a time. This is just the latest foray by the developers and if allowed to proceed will be a disaster.

A consultation is scheduled to be held in Clanfield Memorial Hall, South Lane, on March 7, from 2pm to 7.30pm.

Be there and make your voices heard.

See also http://wp.me/pVDP6-1WO

West of Waterlooville Forum Friday 22nd November 2013


If, per their drawings and graphics, they actually create the variety of tasteful properties promised. If the legacy they leave us with is a new residential site with a bit of style, instead of the typically  boring and uniform boxes which has become the norm. Then I for one am for this development.

It’s a shame that the initial West of Waterlooville development by Taylor Wimpey at “Wellington Park” (Dukes Meadow, Old Park Farm) off the Hambledon Road is so awful. My observations, so far, of the Wellington Park  development are that it is overcrowded and is of a mediocre design. Taking the road around the perimeter, towards the new tip, does not give a very good perspective. The site presents a pretty bland face to Joe Public.

And let’s spare a thought for the folks who had a view across Hambledon Road, across open fields and up the back of Portsdown Hill. They certainly have not been presented with a sympathetic replacement for that marvellous view. Rather they have had multistory apartments built directly in front of them. The equivalent of the developers, the planners and the architects presenting the home owners with a corporate middle finger.

I do hope that Phase 2 of Berewood is handled with a bit more sensitivity.

winchestercc's avatarWest of Waterlooville

For those who could not attend the forum I’ve attached the presentation given by Redrow Homes for Phase 2 of the Berewood Site

REDR130524 Berewood Forum – Low Res

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Serious concerns over Welborne


And well there might be serious concerns over Welborne, the new town to be built north of Fareham.

Welborne - An artists impression of the new town to be built north of Fareham
Welborne – An artists impression of the new town to be built north of Fareham

It doesn’t require expensive surveys to be carried out. It doesn’t require the employment of expensive consultants. Anyone with half an ounce of common sense can see what is going to happen, knows what chaos will descend on this area once those new houses are built. One only has to take a look at the Segensworth area, try travelling through it during peak traffic times.

Once complete, the town, to be named Welborne, will have 6,500 homes, roughly the same amount as Petersfield.

So a town the size of Petersfield will be created just over a kilometer from the town of Fareham. The amount of traffic that the new development will generate on the M27 corridor is truly unknown but it can be guessed at. I guarantee that we will see similar log jams on the new, yet to be built, M27 slip roads, similar to those seen at Segensworth.
The traffic levels around Fareham are already high especially with access to the M27 and also on the road down to Gosport and Lee. Welborne will certainly add significantly to that since the local councillors have indicated that future Welborne residents will also be looking to the new jobs being generated at Daedalus.

Fareham Councillor Sean Woodward is being quite disingenuous when he says of opponents to Welborne …..

‘I’d love to know what their alternative is. It’s easy to say do not build anything, anywhere, but councillors are charged with providing new housing and we have 2,000 families on the waiting list which need housing.

Woodward states that the current  need is housing for 2000 families is somewhat less than the 6,500 homes proposed for Welborne.

Planning for future demand is all well and good but its the density of the housing being proposed that is the concern.

Woodward certainly  knows the chaos to come because, despite all assurances, the infrastructure will not be in place to support the additional load. The roads, the utilities, the available employment, all will be sadly lacking.

This will be an urban disaster.

Country campaigners raise serious concerns over Welborne – Politics – Portsmouth News.

SOFA Denmead – Good Luck With Your Fight


Good luck to the residents of Denmead and Old River in particular. I hope that common sense prevails but on past performance I suspect that the authorities will bow to the wishes of the developers and ignore those of the local residents. Even worse they will ignore the evidence and common sense.

SOFA Denmead.

Spurlings, Wellbourne, Swansdell – You Choose


Coming to the countryside near you….. yes a new village / town. And you too can get involved in the naming of this new community.

The local authority has whittled the list down to just three. I have to say that none of the choices are particularly awe-inspiring. They all have some historical linkage to a bygone era. It’s a shame that they the new construction is unlikely to “visually” hark back to those times.

It’s a shame that the people of the general public weren’t involved in the original list compilation. I for one would love to have seen what Joe P. would have suggested. Anyway, here are the choices put forward by the authorities….

Researchers have gone through Ordnance Survey maps and used the museum’s archives to pick out three names of historic value to the area.

Each of the three names has a close historical connection with the land to the north of Fareham.

The names to choose from are:

  • Spurlings: Marked on the 1879 Ordnance Survey map. In 1841 it was occupied by Charles Osborn, who developed the Victorian villas along Osborn Road. Today, there is a Spurlings Road north of the M27 at Junction 11.
  • Swansdell: Also marked on the 1879 Ordnance Survey map, Swans Dell Cottage was occupied in 1841 by the gamekeeper of Roche Court and labourer John Stares.
  • Welborne: Relating to fields immediately north of Kiln Road and south of Kneller Court, the land named Welborne was occupied by John Budd at the time of the tithe map. The land was owned as part of Fareham Manor by the Gardiner family of Roche Court.

Mind you I think they missed out on a couple of alternatives based on the historical notes for the last one. Here are my thoughts.
According to the Tithe Map the land was occupied by one John Budd. So I thought perhaps Budds Farm would have been appropriate, then I realised that the name was taken …. by the local sewage farm. Another alternative, what with the Gardiner family name linked to the land, would have been Gardiners World !!! Oh well I guess not.

Now we know why Joe P. wasn’t asked to contribute suggested names. There are too many people out there that think like me.

Anyway, if you want to throw in your thee penneth and vote for one of the above options, here’s how.

HOW YOU CAN VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE

There are a number of ways for people to get involved and vote for their favourite name.

Go to fareham.gov.uk or visit the Civic Offices and vote using tokens.

On Friday we will be printing a voting slip in The News, so that you can fill in and send back to make your voice heard.

Voting opens on Friday, February 1 and closes on Sunday, March 31.

The name with the most votes will be announced at the council’s executive meeting on Monday, April 15.

Have your say – it’s finally time to name new town – Politics – Portsmouth News.

End of era as Havant’s last greengrocer shuts


Although reasons for this closure cannot necessarily be laid at the door of HBC, they are not helping the situation

David Guest, deputy leader of Havant Borough Council and ward member for St Faith’s, said: ‘Hopefully we have not lost it and they are able to relocate.

‘A lot of people enjoyed that shop and I’m very sorry to see it go.’

He said that independent shops were an important part of Havant.

So important that the HBC is intent on dragging shoppers away from the town centre by allowing huge developments across the other side of Park Road in the Solent Road area.

‘It’s nice for people to have a choice,’ he said.

‘As long as people use these independent shops, they will survive.

How many people have stopped using the independent stores in Havant centre since the Tesco store opened ? From personal experience I know that I don’t tend to go to smaller stores if I am doing my weekly shop in a supermarket. We are all so busy that it is more convenient to “one stop shop”.

‘There’s no guarantee they will stay around.

‘We just want to encourage more people to open small shops.’

If you want more people to open small shops then you shouldn’t allow the big stores to open up so close to the town centres.

HBC, haven’t you learnt anything ?

And you are doing the same thing to Waterlooville by allowing the new Sainsbury store to open up outside of the town centre. There is no incentive to anyone to open small shops in either of these town centres.

I feel sorry for John Wills and his family. It will be difficult for him to relocate and keep his current customers,to start afresh and build a customer base under the current economic climate and with the lack of true support from HBC. I wish him the best of luck for the future.

End of era as Havant’s last greengrocer shuts – Local Business – Portsmouth News.

“In a word, we’re stuffed”


So says Councillor Mike Fairhurst following last nights decision to allow 92 new homes at Scratchface Lane, Bedhampton.

Many councillors obviously feel that local councils will be held to ransom by the spending power of big businesses who due to their wealth can afford a war of attrition. They know that local councils are on tight budgets and cannot afford the costs associated with going to appeal and losing. Once central government inspectors have voted against local council decisions the flood gates are opened.

‘I’m exceedingly angry. I would reject this but I can’t. I’m up for a fight as much as the next man. I don’t like being dictated to by some bloke in Bristol (the planning inspector).

‘But I have a head as well as a heart and I ask myself what will happen if I reject this? The application will go to appeal, that’s a certainty. It’s not like we will pay the fine and not get the houses. We will get the houses anyway. In a word, we’re stuffed.’

This development will go ahead and the local residents will be the ones who pay the price.

The roads in this area are quite narrow and the egress to main exit routes already become quite congested. This development is too large for the area and any concerns about motorway noise have already been disregarded.

Jim Graham a resident of Brooklands Road, the main site access, says

This has been going on for five years now. All I can hope is that the borough does not live to regret this decision.

Mr Graham, Havant Borough Council won’t regret this decision. They will take their tariff from the developers and will happily collect the council tax from the new residents. It will be the current residents in the area that will regret this decision, who will have to put up with the additional traffic. It will be the new residents who will have to put up with the noise and the dust from the motorway.

I am afraid the council will not regret this decision, they will just move on to their next planning disaster of which they have many on the boil.

The application can be viewed at Havant Borough Councils planning pages HERE

Controversial Bedhampton homes plan approved – Environment – Portsmouth News.

Lets Scratch The Scratchface Lane Development


I wish the Bedhampton campaigners the best of luck this evening.

A meeting should be underway right now, to discuss the building of 92 homes on this controversial development. This land is adjacent to the A3M.

This proposed development makes no sense and has already been refused before, back in 2011, because of fears about the noise levels from the motorway.

The only folks that will benefit from this development are the developers themselves, Crayfern Homes.

All councillors will vote on Bedhampton estate plans – Environment – Portsmouth News.

West Of Waterlooville


The proliferation of houses moves on apace. Moving ahead of and despite the lack of jobs for the future residents.

winchestercc's avatarWest of Waterlooville

Taylor Wimpey are starting to prepare for their Phase 3 and 4 build outs. Next week, they will be felling a few trees that they are permitted to remove. Trees will be checked by an ecologist for recent evidence of bats, and appropriate steps taken if necessary, although all trees were checked not long ago.
Tomorrow, there will be a walk through of the Western Open Space, in preparation for any planting or other action required.

Grainger PLC announced at the West of waterlooville Forum that they are now a Registered Provider for social housing. The RP will be a subsidiary entity to Grainger plc. It will enable Grainger to retain greater control over the management of the affordable homes within its development pipeline over the coming years through the RP, providing greater community building capabilities

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