ADD UPDATE, 9 November 2025: Bloor Homes’ deeply unpopular proposal to build 245 houses in a countryside location on Mortimers Lane is fast approaching. The Fair Oak and Bishopstoke Local Area Committee will meet on Wednesday 26 November [date now changed to 10 December] to decide whether to approve the plans in the face of strong opposition from residents.
We urge people to demonstrate the strength of local feeling by attending the meeting.
Bloor Homes are blatantly bypassing the agreed planning process. Eastleigh Borough Council is currently considering all options put forward by developers to meet government housing targets. It is expected to announce which ones it favours at the end of next year. So why has this company tried to jump the gun?
In ADD’s view, Option A (which encompasses Mortimers Lane) is the worst of all the possibilities. The government planning inspector came to a similar conclusion in 2020 when she ordered the council to delete the area north east of Fair Oak (then called Option C) as an area for development. It is hard to avoid the suspicion that Bloor Homes wish to avoid the scrutiny that would come with following due process.
The planning inspector cited traffic as one of her main concerns. That’s despite the fact that Option C (as it was then called) involved building a relief road, which is no longer on the table. And traffic chaos is the top, but not only reason given by the more than 200 residents who have contacted ADD to register their objections.
Bloor Homes promised to take the public’s comments into account before presenting their application. We can see no evidence that they have done so. Indeed there is nothing they can do to mitigate the impact of their proposed housing estate on our already over-crowded roads.
The correct way forward is for the council to identify sites near existing urban centres and reliable public transport, preferably with their own cycle and walking routes. This would then reduce the need to use cars as well as supporting local shopping centres and other amenities. The Bloor Homes proposal would do none of these things.
The Local Area Committee meeting is due to begin at 5.30 pm on Wednesday 26 November [changed to 10 December]. It is currently down to take place at the Woodland Community Centre, Savernake Way, but this may change. Please check this website before you go.
NEWSFLASH, 13 November 2025: Following our article above, Eastleigh Borough Council has changed the date of this meeting from 26 November to 10 December.
We have been informed that the Fair Oak and Bishopstoke Local Area Committee will now meet at 5.30pm at the Woodland Community Centre, 38-51 Savernake Way, Fair Oak, Eastleigh SO50 8DH on Wednesday 10 December. Please change the date of this important meeting in your diaries.
As always, we will update you with more information as it becomes available.
