ADD UPDATE, 1 November 2017: STOP PRESS – SAVE THE DATE – EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL TO DECIDE ON HUGE HOUSING PLAN ON MONDAY 11 DECEMBER… MEETING TO BE HELD AT THE HILTON AT THE AGEAS BOWL AT 7.00PM… WE NEED EVERYONE – AND WE MEAN EVERYONE – THERE TO DEMONSTRATE THE MASSIVE OPPOSITION TO OPTIONS B AND C.
Decision time is looming for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) on its long-awaited plan to destroy hundreds of acres of countryside in the north of the borough… We have reason to believe that at its next full council meeting, on Monday 11 December, councillors will finally be asked to rubber stamp proposals for 5,200 new houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak (options B and C of its emerging Local Plan).
Whilst this is a nuisance, we have long suspected that the council, led by Keith House, would do this – and have therefore prepared accordingly.
Our first step is to ensure we have a MASSIVE turnout at the meeting so that the council is left in no doubt about the vast coalition of local and national forces against options B and C. Council officers are expecting gigantic numbers, hence why they have chosen the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl, so we must not disappoint them! Emphasising the extent of our opposition, and clearly explaining our reasons for doing so, will make a significant difference when we argue our case, with the help of our lawyers, consultants and many friends, in front of the planning inspector next year.
Whilst we are optimistic that the planning inspector will rule against options B and C, for all the many reasons we have articulated over the last 18 months, we must leave NO STONE UNTURNED!
Without ADD and our supporters, and the generous financial contributions we have received to date, we are convinced we would not have got this far. Indeed, it is almost certain that EBC would have already taken the decision to pursue options B and C and the bulldozers would be close to moving in.
Should EBC ignore all evidence to date, and the will of the people, and take the foolhardy decision to pursue options B and C, we will have to gird our loins and raise significantly more sums of money to pit ourselves against the council’s taxpayer-funded team of officers and consultants – all of whom are straining to reach the conclusions demanded of them by their political masters!
We trust our supporters will rise to this challenge, to save the finest parts of our borough, and of our neighbouring communities, from needless destruction.
We are preparing the ground for this ENORMOUS fundraising effort and, if we have to, will be in touch again in the new year to ask for contributions.
ADD’s team of volunteers continues to work tirelessly in the pursuit of an evidence-based Local Plan for Eastleigh and we will only intensify our efforts as we enter the final stretch of our fight.
We hope our supporters, of which we know there are thousands, will do the same.
In the first instance, PLEASE mark the evening of Monday 11 December in your diaries to attend the MOTHER OF ALL MEETINGS and encourage all your neighbours and local friends to do the same. Eastleigh NEEDS YOU so please pause your busy lives for this one evening and help save the borough’s future from a reckless, short-term planning decision.
TOGETHER WE WILL WIN THIS BATTLE AND SEE COMMON SENSE TO PREVAIL! THANK YOU!
To join our cause, please email [email protected]
