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Dave Betts, Allbrook and North Boyatt Parish Councillor, 26 October 2017: In the furore over the Eastleigh Local Plan, the likely impact on the village of Allbrook is often overlooked. It  would be severe, says Dave Betts of the Allbrook and North Boyatt Parish Council.

Although the Eastleigh Local Plan is still theoretically out to consultation, it is obvious that Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC)’s leadership has always favoured a development of 5,000-6,000 new homes north of Bishopstoke (options B and C). Instead of genuinely considering all the options on the table, they are frantically trying to gather the evidence to justify a decision taken behind closed doors a long time ago. This is despite huge opposition from numerous parties, including nationally established environment and transport groups, other expert organisations and local residents.

To be viable options B and C require a major new road linking Mortimers Lane in Fair Oak to Allbrook Way en route to Junction 12 of the M3 which, far from alleviating congestion, would make things worse.  Much has been written about the effect that this road would have on ancient woodland north of Bishopstoke and on the River Itchen, but it would also have a hugely detrimental impact on the village of Allbrook.

I have sketched the route of the proposed new road in red on the plan of Allbrook parish above. The precise route has yet to be finalised, but options are limited to avoid protected areas and minimise impact on existing properties.

It can be seen that many properties at the lower end of Pitmore Road would be demolished north of the present mini-roundabout linking Allbrook Hill, Pitmore Road, and Highbridge Road. The road would then traverse the area of open land east of Allbrook Way before joining it. This location is already designated for about 95 houses as identified in EBC Development Proposals 6.4.81 under Policy AL.1 – an area of about 7.7 Hectares.

Due to the steepness of the land in the way of the new road, extensive grading and excavation would be required to reduce this gradient – otherwise it would exceed the maximum permitted gradient for a main road. An enormous cutting would result, causing massive division of the village of Allbrook. Meanwhile, the adverse drainage issues would exacerbate flooding risks lower down.

The fact that the new road would have to pass under the existing, very low Allbrook railway arch is further evidence that this is a ludicrous plan! Although the Highbridge Road approach to the arch (from the east) would be straightened to improve sight lines, this would still mean that a major new road, destined to carry vastly increased HGV traffic, would be routed under a rail arch (E1/196 BML1) that has a clearance of just 3.7 metres (12’ 1”). Indeed, it is well known that this arch been the recipient of NUMEROUS ‘bridge strikes’ extending back years!

Increased traffic would only add to the risk of strikes, and with rising traffic speeds likely to exacerbate the problem further, the spectre of extensive damage to the arch and disruption to the main London rail line running overhead, is a real one.

I identify a purely Allbrook perspective here. The negative effect on irreplaceable ancient woodland north of Bishopstoke and heavily protected areas in River Itchen Special Area of Conservation only add to the completely unacceptable nature of options B and C in the emerging Local Plan.

ADD UPDATE, 24 October 2017: It is half term, the children are enjoying a break and of course it is Autumnwatch on the BBC.  Chris Packham will be hosting the programme as usual, and we are bound to see some glorious wildlife in beautiful settings.  So we thought it was time to remind you just what Chris Packham thinks of Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC)’s plans to build 5,200 houses on our own beautiful countryside north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham (options B and C of EBC’s emerging Local Plan).  Chris spotted his first Kestrel nest in ancient woodland in the area affected by these plans, currently EBC’s favoured options.

Chris is absolutely behind ADD’s campaign, and is extremely passionate about our cause. Below are links to recent articles and interviews demonstrating his support.  

Enjoy Autumnwatch and let’s hope we can enjoy our countryside for decades to come, just as Chris did when he was growing up locally.

LINKS TO RECENT ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS DEMONSTRATING CHRIS PACKHAM’S SUPPORT FOR ADD

Daily Mirror, 25 July 2017, Packham hits out at homes

Daily Mail, 24 July 2017, BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham attacks plans for 5,000 homes on area of countryside near where he grew up as a ‘grotesque act of eco-vandalism’

ADD Update, 30 April 2017, Listen NOW to Chris Packham and the Woodland Trust criticise options B and C on BBC Radio Solent

ADD Update, 25 April 2017, Chris Packham video opposing options B and C goes viral with over 17,000 views

Hampshire Chronicle, 5 April 2017, Eastleigh Council slated over ‘eco-vandalism’ plan near Winchester

Daily Telegraph, 27 March 2017, Packham backs fight to save ancient woodland 

Woodland Trust’s Broadleaf magazine, Autumn 2017: SMALL WONDERS – One woman’s passion for pin-sized wildlife in Eastleigh has spawned a remarkable snapshot of her local woods. But there’s a sting in the tail…

“These days I know what to look for – a leaf that’s not whole, a petal with a pimple. My eyes have grown used to spotting where an insect might be lurking.” Jennifer Gosling is bonkers about bugs, and has hunted down hundreds with her camera lens in the woods near her Eastleigh home. She has never earned a penny from her images – in fact she only started snapping nature in 2012, when her daughter gave her a camera after she retired. Yet her curious woodland passion has spawned a superlative gallery of work – laid out in close-up over this article.

There is a sting in the tail of this inspiring story, however – one that has given Jennifer’s quest a new urgency. The irreplaceable ancient woods she loves are now at risk of serious damage from a proposal to box them in with housing estates and roads. They include Upper Barn and Crowdhill Copse, owned by the Woodland Trust and alive not just with invertebrate life, but badgers, tawny owls and rare Bechstein’s bats. Jennifer is horrified – and has joined hundreds of locals backing the Trust’s campaign to save them. “I walk these woods every day, and these plans [for over 5,000 new houses and a major new road] could decimate nature. Invertebrates may not be as glamorous as owls or otters, but they are vital to the woodland ecosystem, and especially vulnerable to pollution from aggressive development. This news has given my hobby a new campaigning zeal!” 

To read the full version of this article in Broadleaf, the magazine for members of the Woodland Trust, click here.

To find out more about the Woodland Trust, click here.

ADD UPDATE, 25 September 2017: Eastleigh Borough Council’s plans to build 5,200 homes and a major new road on green fields in the north of the borough is sparking an increasingly hostile rebellion amongst local Liberal Democrats. Already two Eastleigh Lib Dems have quit and now a leading Lib Dem from across the border with Winchester has joined the fray.

In a strongly worded letter, Richard Izard, a Winchester City Councillor representing nearby Colden Common and Twyford (pictured above), has told every Eastleigh council member that the planned development north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak, its preferred choice for its emerging Local Plan, will be torn to shreds by a government planning inspector.

Amongst a litany of reasons, Izard accuses the council of contravening national planning guidelines for an evidence-based Local Plan, warns that the development could see Eastleigh council fall foul of a new global initiative to keep skies dark and natural, and reveals that a colony of the ultra-rare Barbastelle bat is at risk. The bats like wooded river valleys just like the nearby River Itchen which has international protection. They’re also very sensitive to disturbance and are rated as one of the UK’s rarest mammals.

The schemes have already produced outrage from conservationists such as the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, the Woodland Trust, the Angling Trust and TV naturalist Chris Packham.

In his letter, Izard also points out that the Eastleigh scheme can only go ahead with co-operation from Winchester City Council which would have to approve a new road through their district. And he warns: “There are no guarantees that planning permission for the section of the road which crosses the Winchester District will be forthcoming.”

Separately, Izard reveals that Eastleigh council, which prides itself on keeping down its taxes, is spending more than £1,000,000 on consultants in its attempt to persuade the planning inspector of the viability of a plan that many believe is simply undeliverable.

As our supporters know, ADD’s central aim is to ensure that Eastleigh council adopts an evidence-based Local Plan. Emphasising that the council’s fact-base is far from he complete, Izard concludes by asking the council to “take ALL the evidence from ALL the optional sites into consideration before making your final decision in the weeks ahead.”

Hear, hear! Let’s hope the council heeds this wise advice before vast quantities of egg head towards its face.

To read Councillor Izard’s letter to all Eastleigh councillors, click here.

OTHER READING

Independent councillors give their support to Action against Destructive Development, ADD Update, 24 August 2017

Eastleigh councillors quit over plans to build thousands of homes near ancient woodland in Fair Oak, Hampshire Chronicle, 16 August 2017

ADD UPDATE, 19 September 2017: The Woodland Trust has rubbished a claim by Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), that latest plans for 5,200 houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak, options B and C of Eastleigh’s emerging Local Plan, include sufficient measures to protect ancient woodland.

House made the claim in this interview with BBC Radio Solent on 21 July, the morning after EBC voted to continue to pursue options B and C as its preferred ‘strategic growth option’ for the borough. Speaking about ancient woodland in the area (minutes 4.38 – 5.24), House said he believed that the Woodland Trust “haven’t actually looked at the most recent proposals because we have now got massive buffers between development and the [Woodland Trust’s ancient] woods”, implying that, if they had, they would be content. 

Given ADD’s aim for transparency in Eastleigh’s Local Plan process, we questioned this (and other assertions made by House in the BBC interview) in an article on 27 July, saying: “The fact is that the narrow gap between Upper Barn Copse and Crowdhill Copse [ancient woods owned by the Woodland Trust], through which the proposed new road would travel, is approximately 175 metres and the Woodland Trust says that 100-200 metres is necessary as a buffer ‘to protect plant species from the effects of vehicle emissions from roads’ (click here for more detail).” That said, we noted we would ask the Woodland Trust to confirm it has indeed looked at the most recent proposals and to give its opinion on them.

We have now received a response from Jack Taylor of the Woodland Trust. He told us:

“We have seen the most recent proposals Keith House alluded to. While we welcome the road being moved away from being hard up against our Upper Barn Copse site, it is still clearly inappropriate.

“The severance of this area of natural habitat between our two ancient woodland sites, and Stoke Park Wood, will result in severe fragmentation. When coupled with the additional housing proposed for the area these precious ancient woods will be surrounded by urban development and cut off from the natural environment. These proposals could be devastating for local wildlife populations.”

He went on: 

“Although ADD has measured a distance of approximately 175 metres between the two woods, this would have been along the path connecting the woods [which it was]. In fact, the narrowest point between these woods is approximately 120 metres [see map above]. As such the buffers between the ancient woods either side of the road would still be unacceptable. As we have stated before – there just isn’t the space for this road to be feasible. We maintain a full objection to these proposals.”

The Woodland Trust’s reply speaks for itself: it has seen the latest proposals and firmly rejects them. 

As we have requested before, Keith House and his council should stop playing games and make decisions on its emerging Local Plan based on the evidence, and the evidence alone. We shall continue this fight until it is won. 

OTHER READING

Stop the spin – Bishopstoke deserves better! ADD Update, 18 June 2017

Threat to Stoke Park Woods: Can the Lib Dem ‘Focus’ newsletter be believed anymore? ADD Update, 16 March 2017

MAKING THE CASE AGAINST OPTIONS B AND C: THE WOODLAND TRUST…

ADD UPDATE, 11 September 2017: At Eastleigh Borough Council’s full council meeting on 20 July, representatives from environmental groups, local community groups and elected bodies all spoke AGAINST the council’s preferred proposal for its emerging Local Plan, namely a monster housing sprawl (5,200 new homes) and a major new road north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham (its options B and C).

As we return from our summer break, ADD is publishing what these representatives said about options B and C, so that everyone can clearly understand the arguments against them. As we have stated all along, we are fighting for an evidence-based Local Plan for Eastleigh and will continue this struggle until we have won. 

In this third post of the series, we publish the statement made by Jack Taylor of the Woodland Trust. He said:

“Good evening councillors / everyone,

Introduction

“My name is Jack Taylor and I campaign for the protection of ancient woods and trees as an employee of the Woodland Trust.

“I’m here to speak today on behalf of Eastleigh’s ancient woodland. To some, ancient woodland may not be a well-known concept so I thought I’d start off with an overview of what ancient woodland is.

What is ancient woodland?

“Ancient woodland is defined as an area that has been continuously wooded since at least 1600AD, though most ancient woods have been around for a lot longer than this, some since the last ice age.

“Ancient woods take centuries, even millennia, to develop and evolve into the precious habitat that you see today. Over time vital links have been created between the plants, animals and soils. Ancient woodland provides varied and unique habitats for many of the UK’s most important and threatened species, whether that’s English bluebells, Wild Garlic, or Bechstein’s bats.

“These species are sensitive. They don’t respond well to environmental change and they need the specific conditions that ancient woodland provides.

“Ancient woodland cannot be re-created. There is no gain in ancient woodland in this day, only loss. At present ancient woods cover only 2% of the UK so it is vitally important that we prevent any further damage, loss or fragmentation of these habitats.

Ancient woodland impacts and buffers

“Where development is built near to ancient woodland, the populations of plants and animals that call the woods home can be heavily impacted. In this case, the proposals within Option B and C would result in 5,200 houses being built in very close proximity to a number of areas of ancient woodland, including Crowdhill Copse, Upper Barn Copse and Stoke Park Wood.

“This change to neighbouring land allows harmful outside influences, or as we call them ‘edge effects’, to take hold and adversely affect the woodland. These edge effects may include:

• The intensification of human activity… so littering, vegetation damage, fire damage and disturbance to breeding birds.
• Noise and light pollution from adjacent housing, as well as dust and vibration during the construction phases.
• Changes to the quality and quantity of ground water and surface water, with the added effect of introducing pollutants into the woods.
• Harmful invasive species into the woods, such as rhododendron which takes a stranglehold on the rest of the wood’s diversity.

“When these edge effects penetrate ancient woodland they affect the woods’ typically stable conditions. By creating new areas of woodland around ancient woodland we can shield them from the harmful edge effects. We call these areas ‘buffer zones’. The size of the buffer zone is dependent on the intensity of land use adjacent to ancient woodland. In other cases with 1000s of houses we typically call on developers to provide buffers of at least 100 metres.

What impacts the proposals will have?

“One of the biggest concerns, particularly in the case of this development, is the issue of fragmentation. Introducing urban areas and a whole new stretch of road into the natural environment can be highly damaging to the connectivity of all the different habitats. In this case the impacts of fragmentation would be severe.

“Building the road here would completely sever two of the Trust’s ancient woods, Crowdhill Copse and Upper Barn Copse. The road, coupled with the houses, will result in disruption and loss of natural habitats and will heavily impact on the area’s wildlife, think flight lines disrupted, wildlife corridors cut, and so on…

“Councils and local authorities around the UK need to be looking at building more resilient landscapes, not less. They need to increase woodland and tree cover, strengthen existing connections between habitats and start creating a network of green infrastructure. And they need to do this in line with future development. We are concerned that Options B and C would be a clear step back from these sustainable development principles.

Conclusion

“At the Woodland Trust we have over 700 ancient woods currently under threat from development. I’m here today because Options B and C are of such concern to us. Hundreds of our local supporters have already urged you to reject development next to these woods. I’d hope you will now join them and protect them for future generations to enjoy.

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.”

OTHER READING / MEDIA

Listen NOW to Chris Packham and the Woodland Trust criticise options B and C on BBC Radio Solent, ADD Update, 30 April 2017

Threat to Stoke Park Woods: Can the Lib Dem ‘Focus’ newsletter be believed anymore?, ADD Update, 16 March 2017

Mind the gap: Woodland Trust delivers blow to Eastleigh Council’s options B and C, ADD Update, 10 March 2017

MAKING THE CASE AGAINST OPTIONS B AND C: ALLBROOK AND NORTH BOYATT PARISH COUNCIL…

ADD UPDATE, 5 September 2017: At Eastleigh Borough Council’s full council meeting on 20 July, representatives from environmental groups, local community groups and elected bodies all spoke AGAINST the council’s preferred proposal for its emerging Local Plan, namely a monster housing sprawl (5,200 new homes) and a major new road north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham (its options B and C).

As we return from our summer break, ADD is publishing what these representatives said about options B and C, so that everyone can clearly understand the arguments against them. As we have stated all along, we are fighting for an evidence-based Local Plan for Eastleigh and will continue this struggle until we have won. 

In this post, we publish the statement made by David Betts, councillor for Allbrook and North Boyatt Parish Council. He said:

“Your Worship, Council Members, Ladies & Gentlemen,

“It is evident that the proposed North Bishopstoke route and development poses great threats to highly sensitive environmentally protected areas: the Itchen Valley is such an area.

“The proposed link road, by definition, will carry vastly increased volumes of traffic across the Itchen Valley Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

“The Itchen Valley SAC is already under threat from development and degradation of water quality in the chalk stream with consequent impact on wildlife. Water abstraction from the Itchen and Test is at an unsustainable level and the Environmental Agency has requested Southern Water to reduce its water take-up by some 40%. With proposed further major development in the Itchen Valley area, I fail to see how such an endeavour is possible.

“The Southern Damselfly [see image above] is under great threat from impacts on its environment in the Itchen Valley. Some 25% of the global population exists in the UK: the New Forest in Hampshire and the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, with scattered populations in Devon, Dorset and the Gower Peninsula, and single populations in Anglesey and Oxfordshire. There are also large centres of population in water meadow ditch systems surrounding the River Itchen and, to a lesser extent, the River Test, in Hampshire.

“This area is listed in Annex II of the European Community Habitat and Species Directive (1992), which requires the designation of SACs for animal and plant species of community interest.

“The species has suffered a 30% decline in UK distribution since 1960. It has disappeared from Cornwall, has declined in Devon and Dorset, and has been lost from St David’s Peninsula in Pembrokeshire. The main factors influencing the decline are changes in grazing regimes, increasing habitat fragmentation, land drainage and water abstraction. Further degrading of its habitats can only serve to continue the decline.

“Time is of the essence in now taking a serious stance in protecting sensitive areas. There must be red lines in permitted development.

“Further exacerbating the impact of the planned new road, as part of Local Plan options B and C, is its proposed route through the existing Allbrook Railway Arch which is of restricted height (3.7 metres) making it unsuitable for HGV traffic and a flexible bus service using double-decker equipment. There have been 18 ‘strikes’ on the arch since 2008 – 32 since 2000 along with two fatalities due to over-height traffic. An increase in road use will only increase this risk.

“Establishment of the North Bishopstoke route will be a direct attack on highly sensitive areas of conservation that cannot be replaced, along with the fact that the road will be of questionable benefit in traffic congestion.

“The elephant in the room is the apparent need for an extra 5000+ homes. IF this is substantiated, then there are better ways of achieving it than the destruction of irreplaceable habitat and, by definition, wildlife.

“Thank you for the opportunity to present the position of Allbrook and North Boyatt Parish Council.”

OTHER READING:

Eastleigh’s monster housing plan hit by rail and water double whammy, ADD Update, 9 July 2017

MEP Keith Taylor urges rethink of Eastleigh housing plans, Hampshire Chronicle, 7 March 2017

Councillors raise questions about Allbrook bridge, answers unclear, ADD update, 29 October 2016

Daily Echo, 1 September 2017: TWO former Liberal Democrat councillors have sworn allegiance to support a campaign to scrap building thousands of homes in a Hampshire borough. Independent councillors Steve Sollitt and Sarah Bain have given their formal support to Action Against Destructive Development (ADD) – the group set up to fight options B and C of Eastleigh’s emerging Local Plan which involves plans to build 5,200 houses and a major new road north and east of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak, through some of the borough’s finest ancient woodland. Cllr Sollitt has been a councillor in Eastleigh for 19 years and Cllr Bain has lived in Eastleigh for the last 30 years including spending eight years in Boyatt Wood, which would be affected by the development.

MAKING THE CASE AGAINST OPTIONS B AND C: CPRE (HAMPSHIRE)…

ADD UPDATE, 1 September 2017: At Eastleigh Borough Council’s full council meeting on 20 July, representatives from environmental groups, local community groups and elected bodies all spoke AGAINST the council’s preferred proposal for its emerging Local Plan, namely a monster housing sprawl (5,200 new homes) and a major new road north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham (its options B and C).

As we return from our summer break, ADD is publishing what these representatives said about options B and C, so that everyone can clearly understand the arguments against them. As we have stated all along, we are fighting for an evidence-based Local Plan for Eastleigh and will continue this struggle until we have won. 

In this post, we publish the statement made by Caroline Dibden, vice chairman of Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)’s Hampshire branch. As Caroline said, the council’s favoured proposal is on “an area which is SO unsuitable for development. Of all the options, it is:

• the least sustainable
• it will require a new road upon which to hang the housing
• it will damage a world class highly protected chalk river
• it has the lowest light pollution
• it is the furthest from the rail network
• it is the furthest from access to employment
• it is furthest from Southampton – for which it is purported to be needed to provide housing
• and it is quite simply the most unspoilt and attractive landscape in the borough.”

To read the full statement (two pages), click here.  

Other reading:

Council notes way forward for Emerging Local Plan – 21 July 2017

‘Grotesque act of eco-vandalism’, Chris Packham attacks plans, Daily Mail – 24 July 2017

Eastleigh councillors quit over plans to build thousands of homes near ancient woodland in Fair Oak, Hampshire Chronicle – 16 August 2017

ADD UPDATE, 24 August 2017: Eastleigh’s two newly independent councillors, Steve Sollitt and Sarah Bain, have given their formal support to Action against Destructive Development (ADD) – the group set up to fight Options B and C of the emerging Local Plan.

In a statement the two councillors said: “We share and understand the concerns felt by ADD about the extreme and disproportionate damage that the local plan would cause the environment – especially the impact of the proposed new link road on the village of Allbrook, the River Itchen and on ancient woodland. We intend to work with ADD to promote more sustainable and acceptable ways to provide housing in Eastleigh.”

Cllrs Bain and Sollitt resigned from the ruling Liberal Democrat group on Eastleigh Borough Council earlier this month because of their opposition to the proposed Options B and C, which would involve building around 5,300 homes in the Fair Oak and Bishopstoke areas plus a new road running between five pieces of ancient woodland and across the River Itchen. They remain members of the Liberal Democrat party nationally.

“We are naturally delighted to see that some politicians still have the courage of their convictions and are willing to stand up for their beliefs and the interests of the borough,” said Gin Tidridge of ADD. “We whole-heartedly welcome their support and look forward to working with Steve and Sarah.”

Their move was backed also by Liberal Democrats in neighbouring Winchester. “I know Sarah and Steve to be passionate about their area. Their brave decision to take a stand on this issue, which affects people well beyond the boundaries of Eastleigh, bodes well for our efforts to get the best possible outcome. We applaud them,” said Richard Izard, a former city mayor and long standing Lib Dem ward councillor for Colden Common and Twyford.

Steve Sollitt, a councillor for nearly nineteen years on Eastleigh Borough Council, was brought up in Boyatt Wood and knows Allbrook and the surrounding area well. 

Sarah Bain has lived in Eastleigh for the last thirty years including eight years in Boyatt Wood. She is a member of Allbrook and North Boyatt Parish Council.

The councillors fear the plan would have a detrimental effect on the village and those living there.  They believe strongly that the administration on the Borough Council should be doing its utmost to protect ancient woodland and the areas around them and that the proposed road would cause irreversible damage to the protected habitats and biodiversity along the route.