ADD UPDATE: 28 October 2025: The stretch of countryside along Mortimers Lane north-east of Fair Oak is yet again under attack from developers, who seem intent on gaming the system without any regard to the planning process. The latest firm to put in a bid is English Oak, who wish to build an estate for 50 plus a ‘dementia care village’ (see an image of the planned site above).
For readers unfamiliar with these matters, Mortimers Lane is at the core of Option A, one of four major sites (plus more than 50 smaller ones) being considered for development under the review of Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan. The government requires the council to find room for 9,500 additional homes, and the authority’s planners are currently sifting through the different proposals with a view to making recommendations as to where they should be built by the end of next year.
ADD believes that, whilst Eastleigh may need the extra housing, Option A is a decidedly unsuitable choice. Its impact on the countryside and especially the South Downs National Park would be excessive and, because of its remote location, it would maximise car use on our already over-congested roads. Our view chimes with that of the government planning inspector, who in 2020 rejected in very strong terms Fair Oak (then known as Option C of the previous Local Plan process) as a development area – even though this option then had an accompanying new road, which is no longer the case.
Yet there are now three sizeable proposals in the pipeline for still more urban sprawl in Mortimers Lane – all of them jumping the gun on the agreed planning timetable in the pursuit of corporate profit. The English Oak project follows a plan for 245 houses from Bloor Homes and another for 3,400 dwellings from Croudace/Highwood. What right do these companies think they have to by-pass the system in this way?
There is no doubt that Hampshire needs more care facilities for the elderly, but we have several questions for English Oak, who have provided very little detail. This made it difficult for local residents to make informed comment, as the company had requested through a recent leaflet drop, especially given the short time allowed.
- Why does a care home need to have 50 houses next to it?
- What is a ‘dementia care village’ and how big an area will it cover (compared to, say, 50 houses) and how many residents and staff will it have? How will the ‘village’ look, and what will distinguish its appearance from a solid block?
- How much traffic will it generate, compared to, say, 50 houses?
- This is a remote location with a poor bus service. Other English Oak homes appear to be close to village or town centres. Why choose this location, not somewhere closer the centre of a community? Can they guarantee that the home will be built if planning permission is granted and not converted into an application for more housing?
- This development will be right opposite a well-loved local animal care home. Can they be sure that the two uses will be entirely compatible and that there will be no friction leading to pressure on the operations of St Francis?
English Oak decided to arrange their own consultation process to ‘help set their vision’. Unsurprisingly, their deadline for comment passed at the blink of an eye. However, please feel free to send us your views at [email protected]. We will ensure that they get a good airing.
