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All posts for the month July, 2014

White Dirt Farm Application Arrives

Posted by horndeanguy on July 30, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues, WDF Development. 6 Comments

Well, we knew it was coming and East Hants has received a planning application from Taylor Wimpey for White Dirt Farm. The application files are currently being checked to verify the application is valid and can be properly consulted on. When this is complete, it will be ‘accepted’ and posted online, and I will post a link to the application so you can see all of the details.

In the meantime Taylor Wimpey have posted some brief information on their website so I am re-posting them here with a link to their website below to assist with seeking community views and explain the next steps. The image below is their current masterplan. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it in a separate window.

Horndean Illustrative Masterplan Rev C

Initial reactions are that Taylor Wimpey have tried to down size to address landscape and gap concerns. These remain the reasons to object, along with the community view that Land East Of Horndean is the preferred location for building as shown in the housing consultation (LIPS). The cynics (myself included) would suggest that if successful, it would be a matter of time before the land to the northern end of the field were applied for.

The text on the Taylor Wimpey website again states that the site is an ‘Included’ site. White Dirt Farm is a SHLAA site which means it is on a register of sites the Council have been informed the land owner is willing to have developed, and can not be crossed off by significant reasons like ‘flood plane’ and ‘SINC’ etc. Other than this the site has no merit or elevated status in planning than any other piece of land in Horndean, and must stand on its own merits. The suggestion that a site is ‘Included’ will be very misleading and should not be taken to infer any other status.

The next steps.

East Hants have not seen these plans prior to their arrival in the post yesterday. They will take a few days to check the detail is sufficient to commence the planning process and register online. Once this is processed the application will be given a reference number, planning case officer and distributed to other organisations for their comments. This includes the Parish Council, County Council, EA, and about a dozen other organisations. We can also give comments back in this period to the case officer.

Over the consultation period, the case officers views and the comments of the consultees will be assembled and a report prepared which weighs these up, and makes a recommendation for approval or refusal. This then goes to the planning committee for them to decide. (Smaller applications are dealt with by the planning officers under delegated powers). The timescale for this process will be about 3 months so will take us to the end of October / early November. No decision is made prior to this.

The right time to give comments is when the plans have been uploaded onto the EHDC website (I will post a link on this blog) and the case officer has been appointed (I will put details here). Please also copy in Cllr Schillemore who is the ward Councillor and myself so we can track views and assemble feedback. Please remember, Cllr Schillemore sits on the planning committee and can not form a view of the application prior to the planning committee meeting or it will prejudice her vote on the committee. I on the other hand am not constrained, and (after careful consideration) remain firmly of the view the harm to the landscape and inadequate infrastructure makes this a poor choice of places to build, and we have better options in Horndean to deliver our housing need.

I will be organising a public meeting for residents of Downs Ward to attend and discuss the plans. This will give some structure on how to give your comments to the case officer, and importantly explain what ‘Material Considerations’ are – the issues the planners can and can not consider. This will help to make sure comments have as much weight as possible. This public meeting will be advertised in a newsletter which will go to everyone in the next few weeks, and will be in time for comments to be given to the planning officer. This will be a meeting where the WDF Action Group and Parish Councillor Carolyne Jacobs have confirmed they will participate so our efforts are fully coordinated, and will be organised shortly.

In the meantime click HERE to visit Taylor Wimpey’s website.

Horndean Suspected Arson Attack

Posted by horndeanguy on July 30, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. Leave a comment

photo 11At about 6:30pm on Tuesday 29th July, a large barn in Horndean containing 152 bales of hay caught fire. The Barn is on local Land Owners Kim O’Brien’s farm just to the East of the A3M. Before long flames and smoke could be seen around much of Horndean and Hampshire Fire & Rescue were arriving in force.

The fire was quickly identified as a Significant Incident, and at the peak 6 appliances, 2 water tankers, 1 command vehicle, and 2 special equipment vehicles had arrived on the scene with supporting tenders, making around 15 attending vehicles in total. Horndean Fire Station, our own retained fire crew were also on scene and among the first to arrive.

photo 21Within an hour a Fire Brigade Manitou forklift had arrived from the Hampshire Fire And Rescue Headquarters in Eastleigh with other specialist vehicles being sent from Bordon, Fareham, Havant and Waterlooville.

Senior officer Area Manager Jason Avery explained that due to the remote location of the fire, tankers were running water from the hydrants in Horndean to a 12,000 Litre bund at the scene so appliances could draw water off and use it to fight the fire without interruption. Some properties in Horndean reported a temporary loss of water pressure as a result of the operation.

photo 31Incident Commander Dave Graham (Station Manager) gave a briefing to the crews advising that the Brigade Forklift would start to draw out the hay to expose the fire, and teams would dampen the flames down. At the time of writing it was anticipated that the fire would take a good few hours to put out, then require a crew to remain potentially for several days to spot and deal with any patches that catch light again. This was resourced the next day by crews from Southsea, Bishops Waltham and other stations across the County. Concerns about contaminated water getting into the water supply were dealt with by bunding the water run off.

Not only was the fire attended by Horndean’s own retained crew, but the Plymouth Brethren Rapid Relief Team from the Horndean Church attended led by Neil Reynolds. The Christian Group provide a response to any people in poverty, need or distress and rely on private donations and volunteers. Neil explained that the Horndean branch have supported Hampshire Fire And Rescue at about 15 large incidents in the last 12 months, and provide this voluntary service to all types of emergency incident nationally, supporting all emergency services and charities where appropriate.

photo 41Land Owner Kim O’Brien was relieved that the barn just contained hay and that no one was injured. She expressed sincere thanks to Hampshire Fire And Rescue for their incredibly fast response, and the support the Plymouth Brethren gave to the fire crews while they were on the scene.

The Fire and Rescue Service are still carrying out their investigations, and are yet to determine the cause, but evidence of a break in and vandalism at the scene suggests this was deliberate. If you saw anything suspicious in the area then please contact the police on 101.

Last night, while a commercial loss for Kim and the tenant farmer whose hay caught fire, I saw a strength of community spirit I had not seen before. Well done Horndean and thank you Hampshire Fire and Rescue for the thoroughly effective response.

For more information on Hampshire Fire and Rescue please visit http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk

A Fitting Memorial for Horndean

Posted by horndeanguy on July 24, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. 1 Comment

Nike Ceremony 1This last Sunday saw the re-dedication of the War Memorial in Horndean following the installation of the new Goddess Nike which had been absent for 50 years following a freak car accident.

The weather thankfully remained dry for the crowd of approaching 700.

Dame Mary Fagan DCVO JP, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, was our Guest of Honor and was joined by the Archdeacon of Portsdown the Venerable Joanne Grenfell, several senior officers from the Armed Forces, and our own Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Dalton KCB.

Nike Ceremony 2

The event was supported by Blendworth Brass Band, local youth groups and Horndean Junior School. Cllr Schillemore also ensured the day held several surprises including Period vehicles, air raid siren, VE day newspapers and people in period costume mingling with the audience. Prior to the start of the ceremony a rendition of war time speeches from King George, Chamberlain and Churchill and period music entertained the crowd. A war time bus also ferried visitors and veterans to Merchistoun Hall who were kind enough to host the after service refreshments.

Nike Ceremony 3

Sincere thanks must go to the several private donors whose generous contributions to the fund made this possible.

Local Social Media Site Streetlife.com

Posted by horndeanguy on July 24, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. 1 Comment

A few days ago I received an email advertising a local community based website which looks useful. Let me know what you think!

A new local community website for Horndean

streetlife.com, the local social network, has a simple aim: to help people make the most of where they live by connecting with their neighbours.

The website provides a free and easy place to share local news, views, recommendations and resources, enabling people with busy routines or reduced mobility to keep in touch with their community.

Conversations started on streetlife.com have helped unite lost pets with owners, expose doorstep scammers, save threatened public services and recall local history. The site is also encouraging real-world friendships, with neighbours sharing gardening equipment, IT advice and dentist recommendations, organising craft groups, street parties and book clubs.

streetlife.com has just launched in Horndean, and everyone – residents, groups, local government representatives and businesses – is invited to share their knowledge, discuss the local issues they care about, and help build a stronger, better connected community.

Get involved!
• Sign up at http://www.streetlife.com with your postcode and email address
• You’ll automatically be linked to the people and conversations where you live
• You can post messages, events, polls and pictures, and locals will be able to respond
• You can customise your account so you control how often you receive local updates

Sign up and join the local conversation on streetlife.com.

Streetlife.com logo

Lovedean Eleventh Hour Reprieve

Posted by horndeanguy on July 24, 2014
Posted in: EHDC, Local Issues. 3 Comments

Article by Cllr Sara SchillemoreSara Schillemore Photo

Residents at the planning committee hearing were disappointed (as were local Councillors) that the Bargate Homes application was approved by the planning committee despite strong representation against by Cllrs Schillemore (Ward Councillor) and Cllr Marge Harvey who both voted against the application, but were out voted. The LIPS – Local Interim Planning Policy Statement which we had pushed for did not have the weight we wished.

In the last two days there has, however, been a significant development.

Following representations, the Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government has issued a notice directing the Council NOT to grant planning permission until the application can be reviewed by Senior Government Inspectors and possibly decided by them.

This is a last minute reprieve for the residents of Lovedean, and very welcome. It is too early to say what the outcome will be but if it overturns the decision made by EHDC, will set a strong precedence for the Southcott Homes development next door.

Keep watching http://www.HorndeanMatters.com for more details as they arise, or subscribe on the bottom right of this page.

Lovedean Bargate Application DCLG Letter

White Dirt Farm Application ‘Soon’

Posted by horndeanguy on July 17, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues, WDF Development. 18 Comments

Earlier this year Taylor Wimpey held a consultation for their proposals at White Dirt Farm which generated overwhelming public concern. Today I received a letter advising that they have reviewed the feedback, and have taken the comments into account and are now working on revised proposals. They advise this will be for 135 homes (the consultation proposed 200 to 220) with the houses focused on the Southern end of the site.

Taylor Wimpey advise the plans will be submitted to EHDC ‘shortly’. Taylor Wimpey advertise a website address for the scheme as http://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/horndean if you wish to follow new information as it is posted.

Sadly, it seems they do not intend to consult in the correct Parish (despite assurances they would) and will not be holding a second consultation which, given the changes they appear to be considering would be appropriate.

When the application is received I will post a blog here with the details and how you can comment to the planners with relevant information, so please consider subscribing to email notifications for information like this, and all of the other activities (good and bad) that affect the Parish of Horndean.

In Our Community – Francis Langdown

Posted by horndeanguy on July 17, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues, Local People. 1 Comment

A few days ago I posted an article about Francis Langdown, a Young World War 1 sailor in our community. A few days later I received the most remarkable email which fits an incredible intricate piece of this war time story into the picture. For completeness I am re-posting the original Francis blog here, with the text from the email added in below. Both pieces of text are of course with the very kind consent of the document providers and writers. Guy.

Langdorn PhotoA short while ago I posted a blog about Baden Singleton and his war time experiences. This blog is about another war time sailor from our community, but the article is written by me for reasons which will quickly become clear.

Francis David Keith Langdown lived at 1 Green Lane, Catherington (now Clanfield), joined the Merchant Navy and had his first sailing on the SS Pretoria Castle which was owned by the Counties Ships Management Co. She was ferrying equipment to Africa. This first voyage was a two month round trip starting in London and finishing in Southampton where Francis held the role of Deck Boy .

Langdorn Record 1

His second trip from Cardiff on the SS Box Hill, a 5,677 Ton Steam Cargo Ship 137m long with a top speed of 11.5 knots. She sailed on the 7th November 1939 picking up 8452 Tons of Wheat from St John, New Brunswick. – Photo Below.

SS Box Hill

The SS Box Hill did not make it to her destination and was lost after hitting a German mine laid 9 miles off the Humber coast. She broke in two and sank immediately, the first ship lost by the Counties Ship Management Co in the Second World War. She was sunk on New Years Eve 1939 with the loss of all 22 crew onboard. The telegram (below) informing his mother of his death was delivered on New Years Day 1940.

Langdorn Telegram

Francis was born on the 7th September 1924, and died in the explosion aged just 15 Years 3 Months.

Langdown Registered death

In the next 10 days we unveil the fully restored war memorial in the village as a tribute to the 117 lives lost from the Parish in the two World Wars and Afghanistan. You may not know anyone named on the memorial, and assuming this is the case, look out for Francis David Keith Langdown age 15 years and 3 months who tragically gave his young life at the very start of World War 2.

Langdorn Record 2

We hope very much to see you in the Village Square for the memorial re-dedication on Sunday 20th July from 2:30pm.

Thank you to Cllr Schillemore for providing this fascinating and tragically sad set of historical documents, and also to Mrs Goddard for allowing me to share it here.

Now follows the email that was sent in after a blog reader read the article. Sincere thanks to Patti for allowing me to post it here in full.

I was reading the tragic story of this young man when to my surprise the name of Counties Ship Management appeared on the telegram notifying his parents of his death. My grandfather, A.R Newnum, was Managing Director of Counties (CSM) in the period spanning the war years. They both managed and owned ships and their own ones were nearly always called something Hill. Box Hill, Ludgate Hill, Mill Hill etc. Anyway, perhaps the family of young Francis might like to know what happened after the loss of the Box Hill.

CSM lost most of their fleet during the war, 163 men and 13 ships. They stuck out the Blitz in their offices in the City, sleeping on camp beds as long as they could but eventually they were bombed out too and moved to Oakley Court in Bray. (Oakley Court subsequently became the HQ of Hammer Films who made horror films!) CSM made over their ships to the government and managed them on its behalf, some 17 at the time so that the cargoes and convoys could be arranged.

The Merchant Marine made a huge contribution to the War Effort, without their courage and determination the country would have been starved of the food, ammunition and material it so desperately needed. Many of the vessels were aging and unarmed tramp steamers, unused to combat and totally dependent upon their destroyer escorts. They were indeed heroes. They struggled on, never knowing when or if they were going to be blown to smithereens and without being able to fight back. We owe those men a lot.

I imagine that back in 1939, poor Box Hill was on her own, without the protection of an escort, such as it was.

The losses were heart-breaking for my grandfather. He loved ships and the sea and knew all the Masters and many of the Officers personally. Many of them became close friends. My mother told me that the only time she saw her father cry was when the Mill Hill was lost. She was special to him, my grandmother had launched her and the Master and Chief Engineer were particular friends. It was the last straw.

I would like the family to know that the Company did care, and would have been appalled at the loss of Francis at such a young age. My grandfather would have felt deeply for his parents as he had himself lost his only son to meningitis aged 13.

Patti

Solar Farm Proposal Emerges

Posted by horndeanguy on July 10, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. 2 Comments

Horndean has recently seen the addition of a Solar Farm to the West of Lovedean (Behind the Bird in Hand) and proposals are emerging for a second site just to the south of Hazleton Farm on the marshy land where the ‘Horndean Race Track’ is currently based. This fits in around the perimeter of the proposed ‘Land East Of Horndean’ development. The screening application advises it will be 60,000 panels on 50 Hectares supplying 23Mw of power at peak times, enough for 5,000 homes (about the size of Horndean as it is now).

I have to say I am not thrilled about it as it is very large, and it will build on open space and wildlife habitat. The only redeeming factors are that the land is not visible from anywhere, the panels will not reflect into the proposed development, and the land has minimal use as farmland. The energy companies plans will no doubt explain how they will ensure the ecology is not harmed, but perhaps improved as a result. On balance it will provide clean energy for a large number of local homes which is very important.

The company has submitted an EIA Screening application (which is to determine the amount of environmental assessment work that is required to submit a full application) and no doubt a formal application will follow.

Sadly, the community gets very little in the way of Section 106 funds (developers contributions) from these schemes.

Here is a link to the EIA Screening application

And here is a map showing the location of the proposals.

Hazleton Solar Farm Site

George Hollingbery on Dementia

Posted by horndeanguy on July 10, 2014
Posted in: George Hollingbery MP. Leave a comment

George_HollingberyRecently I discovered a great deal about an important issue that is going to affect many of us, either directly or indirectly, when I went on a Dementia Friends Awareness session. And the reason it’s so important is simple, and a little frightening: there are currently 800,000 people with dementia in the UK and there will be more than a million by 2021.

If that isn’t worrying enough, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, the proportion of people with dementia doubles for every five year age group as we live longer and 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to it. Alzheimer’s grabs the headlines because it’s the most common form, but there are around 100 forms of dementia including vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, and the fear and challenges of having the disease, or caring for someone who has it, makes for a devastating situation in many families. So the Alzheimer’s Society and Public Health England’s excellent Dementia Friends initiative is helping people be more aware and cope with the condition, while educating the general public about some of the issues surrounding what will be increasingly commonplace in our society.

The story is not all grim, as I learned during the session, as many people continue fulfilling lives with the condition with the right approach, medication and support. But the wider public need to know more if people with dementia can have a better quality of life because there is more to a person than dementia and the problems it inevitably can cause. One thing I was told that got me thinking was how important it is for people to create a memory book in middle age which could be a source for carers to help those people if they get dementia as the oldest memories tend to be the last to go.

One other solution are dementia friendly high streets with Lyndhurst, Fareham and Romsey in Hampshire already so named as shop staff have had training to help people with dementia and react if they become confused. I very much hope that some of the towns in the Meon Valley will also become dementia friendly in the coming months. So this super initiative is going to make all of us more dementia friendly and hopefully a little more dementia ready to face the challenge of this awful condition.

More information about the campaign and details of how you can become a Dementia Friend can be found on their website: http://www.dementiafriends.org.uk

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Kids Driving Experience at EHDC

Posted by horndeanguy on July 10, 2014
Posted in: EHDC, Local Issues. Leave a comment

East Hampshire District Council in conjunction with Southsea Driving Club are organising a driving event and competition for young people from the age of 14 to 17. This will be held at EHDC’s offices at Penns Place, Petersfield and there are some prizes for taking part.

Please contact Bob Coleman at EHDC on bob.coleman@easthants.gov.uk

Details below:

Driving For Kids

Land East Of Horndean Housing

Posted by horndeanguy on July 9, 2014
Posted in: EHDC, Land East Of Horndean. Leave a comment

In April this year, WYG held a consultation for their proposals on ‘Land East Of Horndean’ at Merchistoun Hall which was very well attended by the community. In the last months they advise they have been incorporating data from the consultation as well as carrying out their EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment on the site.

The land is the most favored location to build out our housing needs and provided the amended plans show the full extent of the community facilities we are looking for, I will be fully supporting the scheme as our nest solution to satisfy our needs. If approved this will then offer a significant level of protection to Horndean against building in more harmful locations and I am certain we will see a significant change in the success rate of applications we receive.

WYG have kindly forwarded me a copy of the consultation leaflet which is below, and again are sending a copy to every household in the Parish to ensure they are informed and invited to attend.

The consultation is on Thursday 31st July between 3:00pm and 8:00pm at Napier Hall (next door to the Colonial Bar)

LEOH Consultation 2 1

LEOH Consultation 2 2

Memorial Countdown Begins

Posted by horndeanguy on July 5, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. 4 Comments

HPC logoIn just a few days time the new statue for the war memorial will arrive in Horndean and be installed before the re dedication ceremony. NIKE (The Goddess of Victory) is due to be delivered on the 9th July and be installed on the 10th July ready for the formal ceremony on Sunday 20th.

The guests and dignitaries will arrive from 2:30pm so I would strongly advise you to get there by 2:20 to avoid road closures and get a good view point.

Quiz – If you would like to demonstrate your war time general knowledge there is a Quiz in the square that runs from 2:25pm sharp. Down load your quiz sheet here: Horndean War Memorial Quiz Sheet

Photo Appeal – If you have any war time photos of Horndean or the surrounding villages we could borrow – Home guard, D Day Troops, Bomb Damage etc then we would be very grateful to hear from you. Please contact sara.schillemore@easthants.gov.uk

Veterans – There is special transport laid on for veterans from Merchistoun Hall to the square. This will form part of the procession there and back. Please be at Merchistoun Hall by 2:00pm as transport will leave at 2:15. This will also save you parking in the village, and parking will be available at Merchistoun Hall for veterans.

Surprises – The Parish Council and Cllr Schillemore in particular have worked very hard to organise several surprises on the day, if you can make it you will not be disappointed.

After Ceremony Entertainment – Everyone is welcome to join the after ceremony entertainment at Merchistoun Hall where refreshments and light snacks will be provided.

Photos below of the finishing touches being applied to the statue. The arm is fixed separately from a different block of stone.

horndean-war-memorial-nike-carving

horndean-war-memorial-nike-close

Housing in Horndean

Posted by horndeanguy on July 5, 2014
Posted in: EHDC, Land East Of Horndean. Leave a comment

At the moment there is a massive shortage of new homes in the country. This has been compounded by very low amounts of building during the recession. Now this is over, the market has turned with low interest rates and high demand resulting in developers rushing to secure permissions to build. This has resulted in house builders descending on Horndean, Lovedean and Clanfield as these are very desirable places to live, so will sell well. Regular readers of this blog will know that we have the threat of very much more housing than we wish to receive, and the District Councillors are doing everything we can to help protect our community.

Hopefully this post will give a little more information.

Working with our MP. Last night all 8 District Councillors in Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle met with our MP, George Hollingbery, who is equally concerned about the impact this may have, and is supporting us in this. George also regularly hears from residents across our parishes, and as well as speaking to colleagues at East Hants is also in regular contact with Nick Bowles MP, (Planning Minister) to raise his concerns. There were several key outcomes from this meeting, but one key conclusion was that we need to better understand the argument of ‘Sustainable development / unsustainable development’ to combat applications. George is going to assist us here with case examples that may help with precedence.

EHDC and LIPS. You may have read the article here on LIPS (Local Interim Planning Statements) which are the outcome of the consultations on where to build, and will form key evidence in the allocations plan. We need to get EHDC to make better use of this evidence and are in discussions with colleagues about how this takes place. We have also discussed several other issues that it will not be helpful to blog here as developers also read HorndeanMatters and doing so would be counter productive.

Why Here? Actually, it is not just here in Horndean. The onslaught of applications also covers Alton, Four Marks and other communities in East Hampshire. Fourmarks needs 180 homes in the period to 2028, and at the last planning meeting an application for 175 homes was approved. Developers have spotted a further 325 potential homes there and are consulting and putting forward applications at a significant rate there. Alton has several large schemes with 700 or more homes coming in to planning now. This is also the picture across the South of England in pretty much every county. Please remember, development is not at the instigation of the local authority, it requires 3 parties. 1) A land owner who wishes to cash in, 2) A developer who thinks it is a good location, and 3) Buyers. Currently all 3 exist in abundance.

5 Year Plan. East Hants needs to have a 5 year plan for deliverable housing. If we need to build our 582 homes per year then we need to have 5 times this number ‘in the pipeline’ and buildable within 5 years. The 5 year plan is not a report produced by EHDC that is incomplete or late, it is essentially a daily rolling total of the housing approvals and completions and is very much developer led.

Once we have achieved our 5 year plan we are viewed to be ‘building enough houses for our own needs’ and can use additional polices such as GAPS etc to prevent building in the wrong places. This will also allow us to use the Joint Core Strategy housing numbers for each settlement as a guide to where we cap development. Without the 5 year plan in place, it is a free for all and some communities will most certainly build out more homes than we require to achieve it. Four Marks and Alton are most certainly going to be in this category, and Horndean will too as the Hazleton Farm development of 700 homes will be on top of whatever we need to approve now.

With the current rate of applications coming in, it is expected that we will achieve our 5 year plan in September this year. This is significant as this is based on the applications we currently have received at EHDC, and one or two we expect imminently across the district. This means that applications which are not currently in planning will be heard after we have achieved our 5 year plan, and our saved policies (Gap Land etc) as well as settlement totals can then robustly apply. White Dirt Farm will fall in this category, and Crookley Park which is just coming to consultation is arriving very late to the party if it hopes to make use of vulnerability to the 5 year plan.

In effect, we have a further 3 or 4 months of working our way through applications putting forward the best defences we can, and then we start to have some more effective tools to combat development.

For Horndean we still need Hazleton Farm to come forward to be able to adequately block the other sites, and are in regular contact with the developer there to find out when this might be. In the meantime we are looking at the growing case history of planning decisions under NPPF to better argue whether a development is sustainable or not as precedence is set, and lever better use of LIPS in decision making.

Once we have our 700 homes total (and probably more) then refusing applications will be a much easier task.

NIMBY’ism? We do need to build more homes. The increases in house prices are a factor of supply and demand, and preventing our children from becoming home owners. Horndean has to take 700 more homes, and readers of this blog know the community view, and view of the local Councillors is to make best use of Hazleton Farm to give a worthwhile development with some good community facilities.

Building in this area is about The Right Homes in The Right Places with The Right Facilities.

Crookley Park Consultation

Posted by horndeanguy on July 4, 2014
Posted in: Local Issues. 5 Comments

Another week and another consultation for housing locally. This one is called ‘Crookley Park’ or better known as ‘Blendworth Fabrics’ estate. The consultation letter has a simple leaflet (below) and it is not clear if they are proposing to demolish the existing buildings and build on Blendworth Fabrics warehouses, closing the business, or if they are going to try to fit in the 33 new homes the covering letter refers to on the existing land.

It is difficult to see how this might be achieved given the extensive tree coverage without the Arbocultural officer having several litters of kittens due to the sheer mass of tree roots and inevitable damage, but I am sure the consultation will make this clear.

Crookley Park is also an employment site in Horndean, so if the plans result in the loss of this business then this would also be an unwelcome change.

The consultation is to be held at Napier Hall which is on Portsmouth Road and runs between 2:30pm and 7:30pm on Thursday the 10th July

Hopefully the consultation will result in a set of the plans and consultation details online, and this being the case I will post a link so people who can not make the consultation can comment. Please also copy your comments to Cllr Denston whose ward it is in.

Please note that the consultation is on the 10th JULY not 10th JUNE as on their advert below!!!

Crookley Park Consultation