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ADD UPDATE, 8 November 2026: Regrettably it’s a case of ‘here we go again’. Another totally unacceptable planning application requiring a strong reaction before it’s too late. We ask you to respond to a proposal from a company called English Oak to develop open countryside along Mortimers Lane, Fair Oak. Public opinion really matters and your support in the past has made a big difference.

Just over a year ago we reported on their scheme, floated with derisory public consultation, to build a ‘dementia village’ plus housing. It was our view that, while Eastleigh may need more homes and care facilities, this was the wrong place to locate them. This month (November) the firm submitted a formal planning application to Eastleigh Borough Council. As well as the dementia ‘village’, they want to build up to 35 homes and a wellness centre. The public has until 23 November to respond.

English Oak’s timing appears to be an attempt to avoid scrutiny under the emerging Eastleigh Local Plan which, once approved, will provide a framework for future development in the borough. The proposed scheme is in so-called Option A – one of four big potential areas for development under consideration by the council. In ADD’s view it’s the worst of them all. It’s almost identical to the old Option C of the previous Local Plan, which was roundly rejected by the government planning inspector.

Option A would just mean more urban sprawl. It would add disproportionately to the already appallingly overcrowded roads in Fair Oak where bus services are quite inadequate, and it would put further pressure on the South Downs National Park. It would ruin some precious and ecologically rich countryside, and likely cause flooding to the nearby St Francis animal welfare centre. (For a more detailed rundown of our objections see this link for what we wrote in October 2025.)

We therefore hope you will once again let your feelings be known. Emails should go to [email protected] by 23 November.

More details of the application can be found at https://planning.eastleigh.gov.uk/s/papplication/a1MTv000006NkUw

Many thanks as always for your support.

Eastleigh ADD Team

About ADD: Action against Destructive Development recognises the need for new housing, and seeks to ensure that it is carried out in a well planned way that protects the local environment and quality of life. The right homes in the right places.

ADD UPDATE, 5 September 2026: Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) has launched a second consultation on its emerging local plan, as it is required to do by recent changes to the national planning system. This gives residents  one more chance to influence the outcome.

The government has instructed EBC to find room for nearly ten thousand new homes on greenfield sites between now and 2044. Unfortunately, the question is not whether to approve the additional housing, but where it should go. 

ADD urges supporters to take part in the survey, even if you have already responded to the first one. The outcome will profoundly affect the character of where we live.

The deadline is 24 September .

How to respond

The main consultation document has more than forty pages. It sets out the issues and is worth reading, but is not for busy people with little time to spare. To simplify matters, here is a quicker way forward for anyone who wishes to take part.

1. Go to Overall Comment.
2. When asked which question you wish to answer, Question 10 of the scoping document is key: ‘Would you prefer that we focus most growth in SDOs?’ 

There are four SDOs (Strategic Growth Options) – each one accounting for potentially well over 1,000 new homes. The answer to Question 10 has to be ‘yes’ for the simple reason that the council can only achieve the required numbers by accepting at least two but almost certainly three of the SDOs. This question gives you the chance to comment on the options.

The ADD view

We consider that three of the four Strategic Development Options have merit, whilst the fourth would have a catastrophic impact on our already over-crowded roads. To take them in reverse alphabetical order:

Option D (Hedge End – up to 1240 homes) Map D

The government wants councils to build near railway stations to encourage the use of public transport. Option D ticks this box, and would not contribute significantly to urban sprawl. 

Options C & B (Allington Lane – C up to 5,230 homes, B up to 3,370) Map B / Map C

These two can be considered together as they are both in Allington Lane. C is on the West End side of the railway line, whilst B is close to Fair Oak. 

Crucially, C & B would put less pressure on our roads than the other options. They are close to existing public transport services and they have the potential to incorporate cycle and walkways to local amenities and places of work. In the medium term, it would be feasible to build a station nearby between Hedge End and Eastleigh. These options could also incorporate a substantial strategic gap between the new settlements and West End – an opportunity to create a wildlife park for residents to enjoy.

Option A (Mortimers Lane, Fair Oak – up to 3,320 homes) – Map A

This is a rehash of Option C of the previous local plan, which was roundly rejected by the government planning inspector. The objections have become even stronger since then as there is no longer any scope to build a relief road to reduce congestion. 

Option A would add greatly to urban sprawl and, not having adequate bus services, would mean thousands of extra car journeys every day on roads that are already a nightmare at peak times. As well as its impact on Fair Oak, it would cause more traffic misery in Colden Common, Twyford, Upham and the South Downs National Park. 

An application by Bloor Homes to build 400 houses off Mortimers Lane was rejected unanimously by the Local Area Committee. Expect it to re-emerge if Option A is approved. Croudace, meanwhile, intend to put forward their own scheme for thousands of new homes in the area. Let’s use this survey as an opportunity to tell them and EBC what we think of the idea.

This is a critical time for the future of our borough. ADD is very grateful to those supporters who responded to previous consultations. We ask you to do so again. 

You can read more and take part by clicking HERE.

The main page for the scoping consultation can be found HERE.

If you have any queries about the Scoping Consultation, Council staff will be available at a drop in session at The Point, Leigh Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9DE at 3pm – 7pm, Monday 14 September 2026 

About ADD: Action against Destructive Development recognises the need for new housing, and seeks to ensure that it is carried out in a well planned way that protects the local environment and quality of life. The right homes in the right places.

ADD UPDATE, 6 January 2026: ADD wishes its supporters a happy and successful new year – with heartfelt thanks to all those who helped us during 2025.

We finished on a high note when the Fair Oak and Bishopstoke Local Area Committee decided unanimously, against the advice of officers, to refuse plans by Bloor Homes to build 245 homes on a site off Mortimers Lane. The residents who crammed into the public area to show their opposition to the development made a huge difference.

And we will need your support even more during 2026.

This year the emerging Local Plan will take shape. Eastleigh Borough Council will decide which of the potential sites put forward should be developed as it seeks to meet the government target of another 9,500 new homes. It is considering four major options – one near the centre of Hedge End, two along Allington Lane and the fourth up Mortimers Lane.

ADD accepts the need for more housing. It recognises that much valued open green spaces will be lost, even though the first priority must be to build on so-called brownfield sites. It is clear to us, however, that Mortimers Lane (known as Option A) is the least suitable for expansion.

Option A would have the most damaging impact on our local roads, adding to the already dire congestion that we experience at peak times. It would be totally car-dependent because of its location, and would destroy valuable, eco-rich countryside. It would also go against government policy, which sees sustainable travel as a top priority and favours high-density housing clustered around railway stations. So, from both a local and national point of view, it is the least desirable of those on offer.

Croudace’s proposal for a 3,400-home estate, also off Mortimers Lane, is a taste of things to come. When the company put on a public exhibition in Fair Oak shortly before Christmas, the fuzzy images on display could not conceal the fact it would create a massive piece of urban sprawl. Its impact on the area, especially the roads, could only be detrimental.

We have shown that together we can succeed by putting forward strong, evidence-based arguments and demonstrating the strength of local feeling.

We have achieved much – but this is only the beginning.

ADD UPDATE, 12 December 2025: On Wednesday night, 10 December, the Fair Oak and Bishopstoke Local Area Committee unanimously rejected the deeply flawed plan by Bloor Homes to build 245 homes near Mortimers Lane.

The result was greeted with cheers and applause by our supporters who had packed the public area, such that extra seating had to be provided for people who wanted to observe the meeting. They heard 20 speeches from objectors, including speakers from five parish councils, two councillors from Winchester, five members of the ADD team, and several other local residents.

The leader of Eastleigh Borough Council Keith House took the unusual step of attending in person to speak against the proposal, citing the need to wait for the Eastleigh Local Plan to be agreed before any decision is made.

“A big thank you to all those local residents who came to the meeting and filled the hall, leaving councillors in no doubt as to the strength of local feeling on this issue. It made a real difference to have our supporters’ concerns so eloquently expressed,” said ADD chair David Ashe. I’m delighted that councillors listened and have sent a strong message to other developers who might want bypass the Local Plan process.

“It was especially pleasing that Keith House expressed his support for what we have been advocating all along, namely a strong Local Plan to deliver real sustainable transport infrastructure for the new housing that Eastleigh needs.”

We still need your support – the battle is not over yet

Regrettably, there is still a lot more for us to do. Croudace are expected to apply early next year for permission to build 3,400 homes near Mortimers Lane. Like Bloor Homes, they are trying to bypass the Local Plan process, whilst adding hugely to the congestion on our roads. You can read our views on this plan here.

Over the last ten years – and again last Wednesday – ADD has shown that, with the backing of local residents, we can win the argument. Thank you for your support.

Daily Echo, 11 December 2025: Planning chiefs have sided with residents and refused a developer’s plans to build nearly 250 houses near Eastleigh. Councillors echoed the words used by angry objectors in a meeting on Wednesday night and said the plans were hostile, outrageous, unacceptable, and “leap-frogging” over the council’s local plan for Eastleigh. Applicant Bloor Homes had submitted plans to Eastleigh Borough Council to build 245 homes on land south of Mortimers Lane in Fair Oak, ahead of the council’s local plan to choose sites for housing next year. It forms one section of a larger scheme involving 3,500 homes. Members of the Bishopstoke, Fair Oak, and Horton Heath Local Area Committee rejected the plans, despite the recommendation to permit the development from council officers.

ADD UPDATE, 9 December 2025: If you’re not sure about whether to go to tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) crucial planning meeting to consider Bloor Homes’ appalling proposal to build 245 houses alongside Mortimer Lane, here’s why we need you there.

If Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area Committee approve the application, it’s the tip of a massive development iceberg. It will open the floodgates to bigger, much worse plans in the pipeline. On 16 December, developers Croudace will launch a ‘consultation’ on their outline application for 3,400 homes in the Option A area (Mortimers Lane to the Fox and Hounds). They will obviously be watching the result of Wednesday’s meeting closely, so it’s a chance for us to send them a very strong message: ‘Stop bullying Eastleigh’.

If we want to prevent Fair Oak from being submerged in urban sprawl, with all that means for our roads and broader infrastructure, then please show your support as we seek to persuade the committee to reject Bloor Homes’ proposal.

This why we need the hall to be full… it could make all the difference.

Time: 6.30pm, Wednesday 10 December
Place: Woodland Community Centre, 55 Savernake Way, SO50 8DH

To speak at the meeting, email [email protected]

If you want to tell Croudace what you think of their proposals, their drop-in ‘consultation’ is on 16 December from 4.00pm until 7.00pm at St Thomas’s Church, Fair Oak, SO50 7BG

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful support!

ADD UPDATE: 3 December 2025: ADD is urging Fair Oak residents – and anyone else who cares about the integrity of the Eastleigh Local Plan – to make their feelings known when the Local Area Committee meets to consider a deeply unpopular plan by Bloor Homes to build 245 homes near Mortimers Lane.

We were aghast to learn that officers recommend acceptance, despite condemning the scheme for going against government guidance on transport issues. In so doing, they would surrender control of the Local Plan to developers whose overriding motive is to make a profit regardless of its impact on the area.

Time: 6.30 pm, Wednesday 10 December

Place: Woodland Community Centre, 55 Savernake Way, SO50 8DH

To speak at the meeting, email [email protected]

In making their recommendation officers ignored the feelings of the 215 residents who had objected. Reasons for doing so included the impact on the already overcrowded roads and other infrastructure and the feeling that the development would fundamentally change the character of the village.

“If this recommendation goes ahead the council will be flying the white flag and handing control of the Local Plan process to developers, who have no long-term interest in the well-being of the area or the people who live there,” said ADD chair David Ashe.

“It defies belief that the council would want to approve this application without first assessing the traffic and other implications of the proposals and comparing them to the other possible sites that have been put forward for the Local Plan. We know Eastleigh needs more housing, but this is the worst possible place to put them.”

“If this plan gets the go-ahead, there will be others along Mortimers Lane, not least the Croudace-Highwood plan for 3,400 homes, which will soon come up for consideration.”

We can still win this battle with your help. We hope to see as many people as possible at the public meeting on 10 December.

You can read the committee documents for this application (O/24/98619) here.

ADD is an action group for people in Eastleigh and surrounding areas set up to advocate good planning practice.

We seek to promote a healthy balance between the environment and the undoubted need to provide homes for a growing population, especially here in the Southeast.

Daily Echo, 29 November 2025: More than 270 objections have been made over a bid to build hundreds of homes – with planners set to make a decision in just weeks. Traffic concerns have sparked objections to the Bloor Homes Ltd outline application to build 245 homes on land south of Mortimers Road in Fair Oak. The proposal forms one section of a larger scheme involving 3,500 homes, led by developers Croudace and Highwood Strategic Land, on land between Mortimers Lane and Winchester Road. The Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area committee will make a decision at public meeting on December 10 at Woodland Community Centre in Savernake Way, Fair Oak.

NEWSFLASH, 13 November 2025: Following our article a few days ago on Bloor Homes’ deeply unpopular proposal to build 245 houses in a countryside location on Mortimers Lane, Eastleigh Borough Council has changed the date of its meeting to discuss these proposals from 26 November to 10 December.

We have been informed that the Fair Oak and Bishopstoke Local Area Committee will now meet at 6.30pm 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.

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 2026 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 6.30 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.