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Please SAVE THE DATE for an ADD Live interactive webinar at 7.30pm on 29 April 2020

ADD UPDATE, 19 April 2020: ADD will be holding its first ADD Live interactive webinar at 7.30pm on Wednesday 29 April 2020. We will be briefing our supporters on the current status of Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC)’s Local Plan and answering questions you may have. Registration and participation details will be released next week. In the meantime, please SAVE THE DATE.

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Eastleigh Borough Council may look to revive Options B and C “a lot earlier than in five years’ time”

ADD UPDATE, 16 April 2020: In an article last week, we wrote that Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) had confirmed it will remove Options B and C – its proposals for 5,500 houses to the north of Fair Oak and Bishopstoke – from its Local Plan, together with the proposed link road.

The assurance came in an email from EBC’s chief executive Nick Tustian after ADD chair John Lauwerys had tackled him on comments implying that Options B and C could still be included despite an instruction from the planning inspector to delete them from the Plan. Council leader Keith House had accused ADD of having misled the public when we said that the inspector’s letter meant that Options B and C would have to go.

Despite this good news, our article cautioned that Nick Tustian had gone on to say that the council might revive Options B and C when the next Eastleigh Local Plan comes up for consideration in five years’ time.

On Monday, we heard again from Tustian who wanted to clarify that although the council is required to review its Local Plan within five years, it might well decide to do so sooner than that.

He said: “To the best of my knowledge we haven’t committed ourselves to when this review will be as that is something councillors will be asked to consider. We will want to be satisfied that we can meet future housing targets and be clear on where that development will be as soon as possible and I can see the review being a lot earlier than in five years’ time.”

As we said last week, while we don’t believe it will ever be possible to justify Options B and C (especially in view of the increasing emphasis on fighting climate change), EBC’s refusal to abandon Options B and C “shows the need for continued vigilance”. Tustian’s latest message makes this crystal clear.

In the meantime, we continue our work on an assessment of the way forward, and what needs to be done to secure the future environment and quality of life of our area. We will share our results as soon as possible.

Thank you again to our thousands of supporters for your encouragement. We’re so grateful and hope everyone remains safe and well.

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Eastleigh confirms it has shelved Options B/C and new link road

ADD UPDATE, 12 April 2020: ADD has obtained confirmation from Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) that Options B and C – its proposals for 5,500 houses to the north of Fair Oak and Bishopstoke – will be removed from its Local Plan, together with the proposed link road.

The assurance came in an email from EBC’s chief executive Nick Tustian after ADD chair John Lauwerys had tackled him on comments implying that Options B and C could still be included despite an instruction from the planning inspector to delete them from the Plan. Council leader Keith House had accused ADD of having misled the public when we said that the inspector’s letter meant that Options B and C would have to go.

Unfortunately that is not the end of the matter. Tustian went on to say that the council might revive Options B and C when the next Eastleigh Local Plan comes up for consideration in five years’ time. Although ADD is highly sceptical that this will be a serious possibility, it shows the need for continued vigilance.

Here is an ADD statement on the matter:

“ADD has received assurances from the chief executive of Eastleigh Borough Council that Options B and C will be removed from the Local Plan, as instructed by the planning inspector. There is now an opportunity to devise a Local Plan that, unlike the present one, genuinely addresses Eastleigh’s housing requirements without wrecking the environment. ADD would be more than willing to make a constructive contribution to this process. We don’t believe it will ever be possible to justify Options B and C, especially in view of the increasing emphasis on fighting climate change.”

ADD will publish an assessment of the way forward, and what needs to be done to secure the future environment and quality of life of our area, after its next meeting.

In the meantime, we thank our thousands of supporters yet again for your support and hope everyone stays safe and healthy at this difficult time, particularly over this Easter weekend.

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Campaigners hail victory as inspector refuses ‘flawed’ housing plan

Hampshire Chronicle, 11 April 2020: PLANS for 5,200 homes near ancient woodland in Hampshire have been turned down. Planning inspector Christa Masters said the plans for 5,200 homes and an access road on land between Bishopstoke and Fair Oak should be removed from Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan. She said the process of considering the reasonable Strategic Growth Option (SGO) alternatives has been “flawed”. The council has now been asked to reconsider the proposals which would impact upon villages such as Colden Common, Owslebury and Twyford. The authority stressed its proposed SGO has not been dismissed nor found unviable. Action Against Destructive Development (ADD) said the inspector’s recommendation is exactly what ADD has been campaigning for and have now offered to work with the council.

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Bitter row breaks out after plans to build 5,200 homes are thrown out

Daily Echo, 8 April 2020: A ROW has broken out after plans for 5,200 homes near ancient woodland in Hampshire were turned down. Planning inspector Christa Masters said the plans to build 5,200 new homes and an access road on land between Bishopstoke and Fair Oak should be removed from Eastleigh Borough Council’s local plan. She said the process of considering the reasonable alternatives was “flawed”. The council has now been asked to reconsider the proposals. Writing on social media, Eastleigh MP Paul Holmes told council leader Keith House the plan was unworkable. He wrote: “Your flagship element of the plan, which you personally championed, has been ruled out of scope and your processes questioned in evaluating other sites. The local plan is in tatters.”

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Victory for common sense as Eastleigh Local Plan Inspector supports sustainable development

CPRE Hampshire, 7 April 2020: The government’s Planning Inspector has examined the Eastleigh Local Plan and concludes that the potentially damaging Borough Council’s Strategic Growth Option would see large tracts of countryside disappear and should be removed. Eastleigh’s preferred option for 5,300 homes, industrial space and a new road with bridge over the River Itchen, has been deemed unjustified and represents the least sustainable option in terms of transport. CPRE Hampshire has always maintained that the proposals would amount to huge urban sprawl close to the South Downs National Park, with an unnecessary new road which would contribute to the climate emergency. Caroline Dibden, Vice Chair of CPRE Hampshire, says: “The future for Eastleigh and its communities looks brighter. Common sense has prevailed.”

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MPs condemn Eastleigh’s Local Plan after inspector’s letter

Eastleigh News, 6 April 2020: A letter from the planning inspector advising the Eastleigh Borough Council of her ‘significant concerns’ with their Local Plan has sparked a row between council leader Keith House, objectors and local MPs. Christa Masters has written to the council to itemise ‘significant concerns’ with the Local Plan, in particular the process by which the Strategic Growth Option (options B and C) was selected and instructing the council to delete the relevant policies from the plan. In an email to Eastleigh News Cllr House defended the plan and said that although the inspector has rejected policies based on options B and C – the site itself was still viable and that none of the options had been ruled out.

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Eastleigh Local Plan – inspector demolishes council’s evidence

ADD UPDATE, 6 April 2020: ADD has given a strong welcome to the Planning Inspector’s letter to Eastleigh Borough Council in which she instructs the removal of Options B and C and the North Bishopstoke link road from the local plan.

This is exactly what ADD has been campaigning for since early 2016, arguing that the plan would have created a massive urban sprawl, caused huge and unnecessary environmental damage and lead to traffic chaos without significantly addressing Eastleigh’s housing needs. In her letter Christa Masters states in paragraph 41: “I therefore conclude that these policies should, therefore, be deleted from the local plan.”

She also criticised the process by which the council drew up the plan as flawed, saying that insufficient consideration had been given to other possibilities, something that ADD has consistently argued.

“This is a tremendous day for those thousands of ADD supporters who have worked tirelessly and contributed hard-earned cash to support our efforts. The inspector’s letter means that Options B and C can no longer go ahead and that the plan should be fully evidence-based, which has always been our main aim,” said ADD chair John Lauwerys.

“The leader of Eastleigh Borough Council appears to be in denial claiming that this marks some kind of victory for him, which suggests that he hasn’t actually read the inspector’s letter. However, ADD would be delighted to work with the council and share our knowledge to help it come up with a local plan that genuinely meets the housing needs of the area and does not cause avoidable environmental damage.”

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Inspector promises advice on Eastleigh Local Plan ‘as soon as possible’

ADD UPDATE, 28 March 2020: The news that Eastleigh Borough Council had posted a letter from the Planning Inspector on its website on 25 March initially caused us a flurry of excitement. The next major step in the Local Plan process is for Christa Masters, the Planning Inspector, to write an ‘advice letter’ to the council following the recent Examination in Public, at which interested parties including ADD presented evidence. Although not the final document, it will give a strong indication of her thinking about the Plan and therefore of our chances of having it declared unsound.

As it turned out, she had written to say, in effect, that she needed more time and that the advice letter would be issued ‘as soon as possible’. It is now more than two months since the public hearing ended, but gaps of this length and longer are quite common in Local Plan examinations even without the impact of Covid-19. So we will all have to remain patient.

ADD thanks the public for its continued support and will, of course, inform you as soon as we learn anything substantive. Click here to read the full letter. In the meantime, we hope you remain safe and well in these challenging times.

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Yet more flooding causes Eastleigh police to close proposed access route for 5,300 new houses

ADD UPDATE, 17 February 2020: It’s now 19 days since the Planning Inspector completed her examination of Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC)’s Local Plan. She is now considering the evidence before reaching her preliminary conclusion, due soon.

In the meantime, the realities on the ground are clear for everyone to see. In the recent storm, for example, the road under the railway bridge at Allbrook, which is the key access route to and from the proposed estate of 5,300 houses, flooded yet again. This time police decided to close the road (see image above), stating: “Please be aware that Highbridge Road has now been closed (under the railway bridge at the bottom of Allbrook Hill) and no vehicles will be allowed through. The decision has been made for the interest of Public Safety and the likelihood of vehicles becoming stranded while trying to navigate the flooding.” 

Comments on social media reflect what we have been saying to EBC since the idea of its preposterous estate was first mooted over four years ago. One person wrote: “Wow, houses planned over there and that bit of road is going to be the main access route – another well thought out plan by the council!!!!” Another said: “Not sure any thought has been given to this all too familiar situation here!” Meanwhile a third wrote succinctly: “Mother Nature (and Eastleigh Police) pass judgement on EBC’s Local Plan!” Quite. 

Thousands of local people and many local and national organisations are against Eastleigh’s Plan, for numerous reasons. ADD has been working with them – day in, day out – to ensure it never flies. As judgement day approaches, we hope more than ever that the Planning Inspector will agree. We will keep you posted! 

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